A Trip Sideways
by Celonhael
Summary: Kagome is still reeling from her actions against InuYasha when Izumi visits. The Handmaiden uses her abilities to see into a different world.
1. Chapter 1

It was raining.  
For the first time in months, it was raining. Real rain. Not overly heavy, not hard enough to pound the dirt and dust free from the ground, but a steady, heavy rain. It quickly filled the creek beds and dry river beds, bringing cold life back to the hot, dry ground.  
The villagers were outside, acting as if it were a great, wonderful celebration. People stood outside laughing, shouting. Children were running and laughing, splashing in puddles. Adults and elders were grabbing as many empty pots and buckets they could get their hands on, carrying them outside to fill. No one trusted the drought to have ended. Everyone knew it was likely it would return, and they wanted every last precious droplet of water they could get their hands on.  
Some people were even throwing up makeshirt fences, men and women gathering inside them, each to their respective sex, and were disrobing behind dividers, taking advantage of the water to wash, to revell in the glory of dust-free bodies. Children young enough abandoned all caution altogether and ran around stark naked, laughing.  
It was an odd scene, but one that make the monk smile, especially watching the children.  
"I hope this lasts a while," Sango said, sitting next to him, "At least long enough to refill the rivers and streams."  
"I had actually forgotten how wonderful rain smells," Miroku said. Both he and the demon slayer were sitting on the small porch of their hut, under the overlapping roof, watching as the children ran too and fro, squealing. Half of them were covered in more mud than anything else, but it was cool and wonderful. The adults no longer seemed to care about such things, and the children were taking advantage. Besides, the rain was washing the mud away as fast as they were getting it on themselves.  
"Where's Shippo?" Sango asked, "I'm surprised he's not out there running around too."  
"He is, somewhere," Miroku said, "With the older children. When I commented he might want to take advantage of the water to wash as well, he gave me a rather offended look." He sighed slightly, "I guess he's growing up. Less than a year ago he would have had no problem stripping off and running around."  
"It was bound to happen," Sango softly laughed, "Children don't stay children forever. Even Kitsune."  
Miroku nodded, and softly laughed as one child went slipping through the mud, a small little demon boy of about 3. He ended up making an enormous splash, falling onto his bottom when he slipped. Short orange hair was almost black, as was the rest of him, and his wild-looking yellow eyes widened as he landed with a splat. More shocked at the fall than actually hurt, he burst into tears.  
"Whoop," Miroku was on his feet in seconds, splashing out into the rain to pick the child up. He seemed not to even notice the rain pouring down on his head and robes, "Are you alright, little one?"  
"I _fell!"_ the child cried, with all the shock and indignation only a 3 year old can muster.  
"Yes, I saw," Miroku said gently, "But you're not hurt, are you?"  
The small demon child sniffled, "Noooo."  
"Well then, you're perfectly fine." Miroku put the child back down on the muddy ground, "The ground is very slippy and you might hurt yourself. Perhaps you should head back to your parents now for a rest?"  
"Yeah," the little boy nodded, rubbing his eyes with little fists, making an absolute mess of his face, "Ok."  
He gazed up at the monk, who seemed so tall to him. In the future, the demon child would most likely grow to dwarf the human standing before him. But right now, Miroku was an adult, and seemed like a giant.  
The little boy smiled shyly, revealing rather sharp-looking little baby teeth, "Thank you."  
"You're most welcome," Miroku nodded, and watched as the naked little boy toddled back to where several children were running towards him. Two looked similar enough that Miroku guessed they were most likely siblings, startled the little one had been on his own.  
Shaking his head and chuckling, Miroku walked back towards the hut, making little splashes of muddy water as he walked.  
Sango smiled at him. The monk was dripping, his bangs plastered to his head, his robes sodden and now with a large mud splotch on the front, "You're almost as dirty as he is."  
Miroku laughed as he sat, trying to ignore the rather ignoble squeltching sound he made, "Yes, I suppose so. Sharp rocks can be hidden under mud this thick. I was pretty sure he was just startled, but I had to make sure."  
Sango smiled softly at him. Miroku glanced at her, and smiled gently back, her voice coming to him from another time, _"..our children would have been so beautiful."_  
_They will be_, he thought.  
Sango blushed lightly, but held his gaze for a few more minutes, before she turned, looking out over the celebrating village again.  
When she felt his hand lightly touch hers, Sango kept still, and after a second, allowed him to link his fingers into hers.  
Her heart felt like it was pounding, but Miroku did no more, said nothing else, and after a second or two, she allowed herself to relax.  
They sat that way in silence for a while, watching the happy villagers, hands entwined, each lost in their own thoughts a little bit. Sango was thinking about how gentle Miroku was with that child...how gentle he was with all children. Miroku was wondering what, in fact, their children would look like. If they had her eyes, he thought, they would be beautiful indeed.  
Shippo came barrelling out of the ran, laughing wildly, being chased by three other children his own age. All of them were sodden and filthy, and all of them were utterly gleeful.  
Shippo saw Miroku and Sango at the last minute, leaping over their heads to land splat in a puddle on the other side.  
He pulled himself out of the mud, making a loud, disgusting sucking sound, cackling all the while. Miroku and Sango grinned at him - it was rare to see the kitsune child just being a kid.  
"Shippo, what a mess!" Sango laughed.  
"I know!" he called gleefully, "I'm nothing but mud!" A little girl hanyou or demon, covered in fur with a cat's tail and eyes, peeped at him, a grin on her face. Shippo turned to her, holding out his arms, "RAGH!"  
Squealing laughter, the little girl took off running again, back out into the rain.  
"I hope it keeps raining," Miroku said, laughing, "This village is going to need every last drop just to clean up their children."  
Shippo sat back in the mud with a splat, letting out a long, happy, exhausted sigh. His eyes were tired, but he looked so blissful.  
"Hey, have you guys seen Kagome or InuYasha? I can't find them anywhere."  
Sango and Miroku exchanged a look.  
Something had happened last evening. They weren't sure what, but there was a rift between the younger woman and the hanyou. InuYasha hadn't returned at all, and Kagome must have come home very late. She was up again shortly after Sango herself had gotten up, saying she was going to collect some herbs. She hadn't specified what herbs, and when Sango has asked her where InuYasha was, Kagome had said she didn't know, but she was sure he was fine, and had left.  
Her voice had been very clipped, very quiet, and Sango knew the signs of some sort of fight.  
The worst thing was that InuYasha hadn't come back at all, and that worried Sango. Before, when their friendship was new, if Kagome and InuYasha had had a fight, the hanyou often avoided them as well, not sure how he was supposed to behave. As he had warmed to them, though, and grown closer to them, it seemed the few times Kagome and InuYasha fought, the _more_ the hanyou tended to hang around, even if just up in a tree, or to the side. He still desired company, and still wanted to be with his friends.  
Now he was nowhere to be seen either.  
"Shippo," Sango said gently, "I think Kagome and InuYasha may have had a fight."  
_"AGAIN!?"_ Shippo sighed a long-suffering sigh, "Is that all they know how to do? Whose fault was it this time? Probably InuYasha's, he's always doing something stupid."  
"I don't know," Miroku said, "He hasn't come back since last night."  
Now Shippo started to look worried, "You don't think he's in trouble do you?"  
Miroku shook his head, "No. If anything had happened, I'm sure Kagome would have known about it, somehow. She usually gets to the bottom of things like this. And if he was in trouble, Kagome would come back here and let us know."  
"But...Kagome said her and InuYasha fought Neith and Xether the other night! What if there are more Shadelings out there?"  
"I'm sure they're fine, Shippo," Sango said gently, "They just need time apart, you know that."  
"Kagome's not going home, is she?"  
"She would have told me if she were," Sango said.  
"She must be getting drenched."  
"Water's ok," Sango said, "There's nothing dangerous about getting wet."  
Beside her, she felt Miroku shiver, and she looked at him, concerned.  
"I'm fine," he assured her, but there was an uneasy look to his face she didn't like. She knew he had already had one nightmare about drowning.  
He watched her, and smiled gently, squeezing her hand, "I'm fine."  
She nodded.

Kagome sat under a tree, the basket beside her, half filled with herbs. The herbs were poorly picked, most of them tattered and broken. She didn't really care, she hadn't come out here to actually pick herbs anyway.  
She came out because she had nothing else to do.  
And because she was hoping to find him.  
He hadn't come back to the hut at all last night, and hadn't turned up again in the morning. Now she was starting to worry about him. What if one of the other Shadelings had returned? They had killed The Twins, and Neith, but there were more out there. Jemu, the one that had stolen her soul, and Phobia, that weird, horrible child who could turn your fears against you. And there might be more, who knew?  
She had wandered around, hoping for some sign of his crimson haori, some sign of him hanging out in one of the trees, until the sky had opened up, and she huddled under another tree for cover.  
There was no sign of him, no sound, nothing.  
_I'm so sorry,_ she thought, trying hard not to cry. She cried too much, she knew it. But her emotions had always been so strong, it was always so hard to keep them in check like that.  
His voice came to her from yesterday, unnaturally hard and angry with her, _"...and stop crying. Just stop it right now._"  
Normally, her tears reduced him to panic and desperation. Yesterday they had only angered him more.  
_I never meant to hurt you, InuYasha, I swear on my father's grave. I thought I was helping you. Why was I so stupid?_  
The rain came down harder. Her hair was plastered to her neck and back now, and she just sat there, miserable. She didn't even care she was soaked through.  
She caught motion from the corner of her eye, and she was on her feet in seconds, turning, peering out through the grey curtain of rain, _"InuYasha?"_  
There was no crimson in this figure, and it continued to move towards her. Kagome took a step back, reaching for the sword that now always hung at her hip, tensing, waiting...  
Blinking, startled, as Izumi hurried out of the rain to huddle under the tree beside her.  
The woman wore a very light blue gown today, with little black birds embroidered all over them. She was utterly drenched, her long black hair clinging to her like a wet blanket.  
Startled black eyes peered out at Kagome through sodden bangs, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter.  
"_My goodness what a downpour!"_  
Kagome took a step towards Izumi, "Lady Izumi, what are you doing here?"  
"Well," Izumi laughed, holding up her sodden robes as they dripped onto the soft moss under her shoes, "I decided to come and visit. I had no idea it was raining so hard! My goodness I haven't seen rain like this in _years_."  
Kagome smiled faintly. Izumi's presence was comforting, like an aunt. Izumi usually knew how to put everything right.  
Izumi took up the hem of her robe and rolled it between her hands, twisting, wringing it out. Laughing, she bent over, gathering up her long black hair, and doing the same, "I hope we don't all get a cold out of this."  
When she straightened, Izumi brushed back her sodden bangs, and really focused on Kagome for the first time. Her smile faded.  
"Kagome, dear, what's wrong?"  
Kagome smiled, tried to say something, only to discover she couldn't talk.  
"Kagome?"  
"Oh Izumi!" she cried, "I've been such an idiot and I hurt him so badly!"  
Izumi blinked, "What on earth?"

"S-So, that's what happened," Kagome sniffled, hating her tears yet helpless to them, "I was so stupid. I mean, so _stupid! There's no word appropriate for how stupid I was!"_  
"Oh dear," Izumi said gently, lightly patting Kagome's hand, "But, Kagome, dear, why did you want to set InuYasha up with this other woman? I don't understand."  
"I...I just thought...he'd be happy with her, you know? I mean, I know he cares about Kikyo, but Kikyo's not good for him! _She wants to take him to Hell!_ That's not love! I mean, I'm sure she loved him once, but not now!"  
Izumi spoke softly, "Kagome, dear one. If InuYasha had trouble choosing between you and Kikyo, what on earth makes you think he would have an easier time choosing between Chichiko and her?"  
"I don't know," she said, miserably, "I wasn't thinking at all."  
His voice came her again, angry, and hard, _"Yeah, you weren't thinking...you thought too damn much."_  
_Yes. I thought too much. I overstepped my bounds, and tried to solve something that wasn't solvable._  
"So where is he now?" Izumi asked.  
"I don't know. He's out here, somewhere. He left last night, wouldn't even come back to the hut. I haven't seen him since then. Izumi, I'm scared he's hurt or fighting a Shadeling, or..."  
Izumi shook her head, "No dear. I'd sense if there was a Shadeling around. He probably just needs some time alone."  
Kagome rummaged for a hankerchief, sniffling.  
Izumi reached inside her robe, and produced one, handing it to her. Kagome mumbled her thanks, wiping her eyes and her nose.  
"What I don't understand, though," Izumi said softly, "Is why you tried to set InuYasha up with _anyone_. Didn't it hurt?"  
"No, why should it?"  
"Because you love him."  
Kagome blinked at Izumi, and felt a touch of anger, "Why is everyone saying that! I'm not in love with InuYasha! I was once, but it's over! We're just friends! And I wanted to find him someone who would treat him the way he deserves!"  
Izumi watched Kagome's face, watched as she looked away, unable to meet her eyes as she spoke.  
_Oh dear Kagome,_ Izumi thought, _You can't admit it, even to yourself, can you? What would you have done if you had been successful?_  
She said nothing, just waited for Kagome to talk again. After a few moment, the younger woman spoke.  
"I...I still care about him as a friend, Izumi. I _do_. But I can't care about him like _that_ any more. He just hurt me too many times. And I _know_ he didn't _mean_ to, I know he always felt _terrible_ about it, but he always did anyway.  
He can't help himself. He loves Kikyo too much."  
"And yet," Izumi said gently, "He is here, with you."  
Kagome looked up swiftly, looking around, her black hair swinging widly as she looked around for the hanyou, for the splash of color.  
Izumi spoke quickly, "Forgive me, I meant figuratively. He is not with Kikyo."  
Kagome looked down at her knees, blushing, "Oh. Well...that's because of this, Lady Izumi."  
"Please, dear, don't call me Lady."  
Kagome looked up at her, "But doesn't Lord Sesshomaru call you "My Lady" ?"  
She was surprised to see the older woman actually blush slightly, "Yes, he does, even though I ask him not to. I think he's mocking me."  
Izumi, however, couldn't help but remember the way the Demon Lord had put emphasis on the "My" when he first called her "My Lady."  
She shook her head, "At any rate, we are discussing you, dear, not me."  
Kagome fell silent.  
"What did you mean by, "this" ?"  
"The...the war. The Shadelings. All of it. Of course he's here, this is where everything is going on." Kagome lowered her voice, "I know he still cares for me..."  
His voice again, outraged...  
_"... but don't you __**dare**__ deny my love for you!"_  
"And I know he'll protect me. He...he was forced to bow to Neith, because he was hurting me." Kagome's hands curled into fists, white-knuckled, "He was using me to hurt InuYasha. Because he knew he could. And I had to just stand there, and watch as he was forced to _bow to Neith because he was hurting me!"_  
Izumi was silent, listening.  
Kagome sighed deeply, wiping a hand across her face, "But he will _always_ go back to her, Izumi. He can't _help_ himself. I finally realized that. If I...if I started having feelings for him, I'd just be setting myself up for more hurt."  
"Kagome..." Izumi shifted, making herself more comfortable, "You do understand why InuYasha loved Kikyo, don't you?"  
"Yes. You already told me. He was alone, and she was the first person...the first _woman_, to show him friendship and affection. I don't blame him for falling in love with her. It was completely natural." Kagome looked up at Izumi, "I don't hate him for that. I did, once. But I don't anymore."  
Izumi nodded, then spoke again, "He had a terrible upbringing. He had no family, no friends, no one to care for him. And then this beautiful woman started showing interest in him. She treated him kindly. Certainly kinder than anyone else ever had. He would have had to have had a heart of stone for it not to affect him, and if there is one thing we know about him...however desperately he tries to hide it, InuYasha does _not_ have a heart of stone."  
"No. He doesn't," Kagome said gently. She looked up at Izumi again, "He's come so far, Izumi. When I first met him, InuYasha was wild, he was angry, he was mean, he was...anti-social. He hated and distrusted everyone. Just about every time we fought, it was because he had done or said something I thought was unnecessary, or mean, or uncalled for. Maybe it was wrong of me. Maybe I should have accepted him more..."  
"Kagome," Izumi reached out, and took Kagome's hand in hers, "You did _exactly_ what was called for. You _did_ accept him, as a hanyou. You accepted him as a person, with rights, a person to be held in high regard, a person with his own thoughts and actions, for right or wrong. You refused to let anyone within your hearing disrespect him solely on the basis of his hanyou heritage.  
But you also insisted he become what you knew was there. A good person. You demanded he stand up for himself with patience and strength, not with claws and fangs. You demanded he stand by his word, if he ever showed signs of falling back. You demanded he do what was right for people around him, even if it put him out of his way, because that is what a good person does. You demanded he learn to open up to others, especially those he came to call his friends. You never let InuYasha get away with anything. Any time he tried to be uncivil or dishonourable, and he wanted to be able to blame it on his hanyou heritage, you refused to listen and insisted he reveal he had morals."  
Kagome listened, wide-eyed.  
"InuYasha was, and still is, of course...a diamond in the rough.  
You polished him up."  
Kagome shook her head, pulling her hands back, but Izumi spoke firmly, "You said yourself how far he has come. A year ago, would he have agreed to escort a woman he didn't even know out to the middle of nowhere so she could pick mushrooms?"  
"Well, no, but I played on his ego."  
Izumi shook her head, "That would have inflated his head, yes. But he still would have refused. InuYasha can walk into any village now, and start up a conversation with a complete stranger, a conversation that doesn't involve insults or arrogance, and that is because you forced him to reach out."  
Kagome looked back at her knees.  
_That's why you are better for him than Kikyo,_ Izumi thought, but did not say aloud.  
Kagome sighed, then spoke, "Anyone would have done that."  
"They most certainly would not have," Izumi said firmly, "Because you are very outspoken for a young woman, Kagome. You have no qualms about starting a loud fight with InuYasha in the middle of a crowded place, no worries about not looking _seemly_, or _unwomanly_. You are very...vocal, dear. And that is what he needs."  
Kagome blushed, "It's only because I'm from the future!"  
"Is it? Are you friends as...vocal as you are, dear?"  
Kagome fell silent again, not knowing what to say.  
"Well...no...I'm usually being told I'm too loud..."  
Izumi softly laughed.  
Kagome looked up at her, and shook her head, "None of this matters, Izumi. He still loves Kikyo. He will always love her. I don't think it's even possible for him _not_ to love her."  
Izumi fell silent, watching Kagome for a moment, and then spoke softly.  
"Kagome...what if I could show you something that might make you change your mind?"  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
"How much do you trust me?"  
Kagome blinked, "I...I trust you with my life, Izumi."  
The older woman nodded, "Then I'm going to show you something that may change your mind."  
"Like what?" Kagome asked, nervously, tugging on a strand of her hair.  
"I have told you that there are different worlds, different levels than this one, yes? Worlds where things happen differently. Say, a world where you never found the Shikon, or a world where Sango died at Naraku's hands when her father did?"  
Kagome fell silent, then nodded, "Yes."  
"Lay down here, on the soft moss, and close your eyes. I'm going to take you to one of those worlds. A place I want you to see."  
Kagome watched Izumi, starting to grow frightened, "What am I going to see?"  
Izumi smiled, "Lay down."  
Slowly, Kagome lay down on the soft but damp moss. The rain was letting up, but still falling, and the air around them was filled with the softly hissing of the rain.  
"You will sleep. And you will go to another place. But you don't have to be afraid, because you won't actually _be_ there, do you understand? It will be like a dream."  
"Just a dream."  
Izumi nodded, "You will be able to touch things, talk to people, even feel pain, so don't try anything exuberant, like jumping off a cliff to try flying. You'll be aware this is just a...visit, as well."  
"Can I...I can't...die or anything over there, can I?"  
"Of course not," Izumi said, "And I will be here protecting your sleeping body, so you are in no danger whatsoever, my dear.  
When you wake up, you will be in your well, for your mind already sees that as a way of travelling from one place to another. And when you finish seeing what you want to see, simply return to the well, and you will wake up here."  
"How...how will I know what I'm supposed to see?"  
Izumi smiled gently, "That I can't tell you. But I think you'll know it when it's done. You'll start wanting to come back. Just jump into the well, and you will be here again."  
"Alright," Kagome said quietly. Her heart was pounding with the faint stirrings of fear, but she trusted Izumi completely, so she took a deep breath, let it out, and then closed her eyes.  
And drifted into blackness.


	2. Chapter 2

She awoke in the well.  
It was as though she had been sleeping standing up, for she came to, completely alert, looking at one of the waalls of the well.  
Old stone work, vines.  
She blinked, and looked up.  
_Well, she said I'd wake up in the well, and here I am. Ok. Let's go have a look at what I need to look at. Not that it's going to make any difference._  
She grabbed ahold of the vines, and realized she wasn't wearing the clothing from her world she had been when she had fallen asleep. Here he was wearing a light blue haori and black haori. She had small leather shoes on her feet. Her sword was still at her side, and there was a bow over one shoulder. A quiver of arrows hung on her back. For a split second, Kagome was terrified she was dressed as a Priestess, and she raised her hands to her hair.  
She sighed, relieved, when she felt her hair was unbound and loose, as she always wore it.  
_I know it's stupid,_ she thought, grabbing ahold of the vine and pulling herself up, _Dressing like Kikyo doesn't put me in competition with her. But I don't like dressing just like her. I'm not her, so I don't want to look like her!_  
Kagome blinked, and instantly touched her chest, feeling for the Shikon.  
It was gone.  
For a brief second, she panicked, then remembered she was asleep. Izumi watched over her. The Shikon was still on her body.  
She remembered the day Izumi sat down and explained both to her and the others that Kagome was not Kikyo's reincarnation. The two women were similar in appearance, yes. And they had a tie to the Shikon. A tie that was given both of them by Midoriko. They both had _Midoriko's_ spiritual power. Kagome and Kikyo were two seperate people, two seperate souls.  
Grabbing the lip of the well, Kagome dragged herself up and over, perching on the edge.  
She blinked.  
This wasn't the forest she was used to. It _was_ a forest, yes, but a different one. For starters there was a rather large hill near the well, and there certainly wasn't one normally. Also, the trees were different. They looked more like pines than decidious trees.  
_I think I'm more north,_ she thought to herself, standing on the ground, _Like...around Yamagata. Certainly not as far as Hokkadio. Huh._  
At her feet was the basket she had used earlier, to pick herbs. She picked it up, peering inside. More herbs lay there, different ones than the ones she picked. But the basket was hers, she recognised it.  
Kagome started walking, pushing her way through the thicker pine trees, walking in the general direction of Kaede's village, or where it should be.  
When she finally got clear of the forest, and walked into a little clearing, she saw there was only more forest down over the hill. Kaede's village certainly wasn't there.  
_So now what?_  
A faint trail passed by under her feet, and she looked at it.

Kagome chose at random, turning right, and started walking along it.  
Several minutes later, she found herself deep in the forest again, pushing her way through. The bow occasionally got caught on branches, and she was forced to stop from time to time to pull herself clear.  
_This must be a stupid game trail. I should have gone left._  
She managed to break out of the forest, hot, tired, sweaty, and with leaves in her hair. She cursed silently, then fell silent, gazing up wards.  
A tall hill rose before her, and on the top of the hill, was an ancient castle. The stone walls surrounding the castle were thick and impressive. It seemed to loom over here, impressive in it's yellows, golds, greens and reds. A long path wove it's way up to the castle, and from where she was standing, she could see the lands belonging to it laid out before her. People worked in fields, moving to and from the castle, carrying goods. People seemed to be everywhere.  
"Well..." she spoke to herself, "I guess I'm supposed to go there. It's the only place I can really see."  
Tucking her bow back on her shoulder, she got a better grip on her basket of herbs, and started towards the path.

It wasn't too long before Kagome started passing people on the road. Some were on horses, others on carts. A lot walked. They all seemed to be busy at work, carrying things here and there. It was pretty much exactly as Kagome had seen images in her Feudal Japan history books. She had never seen any while in InuYasha's world, just because they had never come across any such large castles.  
The first thing she noticed, as she walked, was that some of the people on the roads were demons. And a few were hanyou.  
There weren't very many. Not even as many as in the village they were now staying in. But some. Most recieved no hard looks from the humans as they passed. Everyone pretty much just seemed to busy going about their lives.  
The second thing she noticed was that there seemed to be a lot of guards walking the roads as well.  
She assumed they were guards. They looked like soldiers, wearing swords and armor. A few were demon or hanyou. Kagome saw nothing that looked close to the armor of a samurai, so she assumed they were more the rank-and-file owned by whoever lived in the castle.  
As she walked, she fell into step with an older woman who was walking slowly along the path. She tried to keep to the side so as not to get in anyone's way. Kagome fell into step with her, noticing the old woman seemed to be limping slightly.  
"Excuse me, are you ok?" Kagome asked.  
The old woman peered up at her, "Eh? Oh. My, yes, just age, but thank you for asking, my lady."  
"Can you tell me who-"  
Suddenly, a strange sound started up all around them. To Kagome it sounded weirdly like some sort of siren. All around her, the people froze in place, and then started running. Most left the road altogether, heading back towards the small villages that dotted the ground below.  
The guards drew their swords, storming past, eyes and faces intent.  
"What's going on?" Kagome asked, "What is that? Is that a _siren_?"  
"We're being attacked!" the old woman cried, terrified, "They're attacking again!"  
"Who's attacking!? What's going on?"  
The old woman grabbed Kagome's arm with a vice-like grip, and started pulling her away from the road, "Come with me, young woman! If they see a lovely young thing like you, they'll take you for sure!"  
"Who are you talking about?" Kagome yelled, surprised at the strength in the old woman's arms.  
There was a loud screech, and Kagome turned, shocked, to see what looked like several demons swarming up the road towards her. They looked like a strange combination of bug and monkey. Green skin covered with brown fur, bulging eyes, twisting tails, they ran swiftly.  
The people behind her, those who hadn't been able to get off the road, screamed, and turned, trying to bolt back up the twisting path. People were being knocked over, pushed aside, as everyone panicked.  
Somewhere, a child started to cry, screaming for her mother.  
Kagome dropped her basket of herbs, and drew her bow. Grabbing an arrow from her quiver, she lined up, drew, and released within seconds. A second arrow was on the string before the first one struck.  
The lead demon screamed in shock, it's cry cutting short as the arrowhead embedded between it's eyes pierced it's brain, killing it. It fell backwards, silent, tripping one of the other demons behind it, slowing it down.  
Kagome's second arrow struck the second demon in it's chest, sinking deep. The demon let out a ear-splitting screech, staggering backwards.  
The third demon kept coming, and had closed the distance between it and the young woman.  
Useless, Kagome let the bow fall to the ground, and drew her sword.  
She remembered InuYasha telling her she was never to face a demon with her sword, alone. She could probably go head-to-head against a human who didn't have a lot of training, but a demon would always be too powerful for her. He only let her use her sword if he was there beside her, to make sure things never got out of control.  
_Well, I don't have a lot of choice right now!_ she thought, and raised her blade.  
The demon she had injured with the arrow hung back, watching, spitting curses and blood. The third one, however, was uninjured, and it swung at her.  
Kagome blocked the hit with her sword, but the impact travelled up the blade and into her arm, almost numbing her arm and hand instantly.  
_Well, I'm not going to find out much, I guess_, she thought ruefully, _Because I'm about to get killed._  
Another hit, and her arm went numb.  
Kagome tried to keep her blade up, to defend herself. She couldn't feel her arm, but could still see it, so maybe she could still use it to protect herself.  
The demon gathered itself to attack, but suddenly cries and shouts went up from Kagome's right. Keeping her face turned to the demon, her eyes on it - InuYasha told her never to take her eyes off her attacker for more than a split-second - Kagome cast her gaze to the side, just long enough to see a handful of guards come barrelling down, swords out, screaming a battle cry.  
The demon facing Kagome hissed at her in fury, then turned to attack the new threat.  
Kagome backed up several feet, putting more distance between the demon and herself, and lowered her numb, weak arm with a sigh of relief.  
_Thank goodness._  
It took three tries before she was able to sheath her sword.  
The old woman was still crouched on the ground, but was staring at Kagome with wide eyes.  
Kagome knelt beside her, "Are you ok, were you hurt?"  
The old woman blinked at her, and then spoke, "You attacked that demon! You shot them with arrows, and then attacked them!"  
Kagome weakly laughed, "Well...sort of. I'm just glad the guards came. Are you ok?"  
She helped the old woman back up to her feet.  
"I am fine. What is your name, young one?"  
"I'm Kagome."  
"Kagome. Well, I'm in your debt, Kagome. I owe you my life, as do, I suspect, a number of the people here on this road."  
"Oh, no, I just...I only slowed them down."  
"You killed one directly! You shot it right between the eyes!" came the voice of a woman standing on the side.  
Kagome looked up to see there was a little crowd starting to gather, now that the demons had been slain.  
"Did you see it?" one man asked another, "That woman, right there! She used her arrows, and killed a demon! Then drew a sword, a real sword, and attacked!"  
"I didn't attack!" Kagome said, trying to set the matter straight, "I defended! There's a big difference! The soldiers attacked!"  
"Miss."  
Kagome turned to see a man walking towards her. His armor was different, a little brighter, yet had more dents. As he approached, he removed his helmet to reveal a man about 30 or 40. He had a rather long mustache, black as his hair, but with a few greys starting to show up. His face was leathery, testimony to long years in the sun.  
"Uh...yes sir?" Kagome bowed to the stranger.  
"Please come with me."  
Kagome took a faltering step backwards, "Wh-what? Why?"  
"Just come with me. The Lord will wish to speak to you."  
"I didn't do anything!" Kagome said in a rush, uneasy, "I didn't hurt anyone!"  
The man's face softened slightly, "You aren't in trouble, my lady. But I do think my Lord would like to talk to you. Please, come with me."  
"Don't be afraid," the old woman said kindly, patting Kagome on the arm, "The Lord and Lady of the castle are good people, fair and kind. You don't need to be afraid of them."  
"I...ok." She said weakly. Kagome bent down and picked up her basket of herbs...not entirely sure why...and then followed the man back up the path, towards the looming castle.  
The other guards fell into step behind her. For a moment Kagome was frightened she _was_ being arrested for something, until she realized it was more of a protective guard surrounding her than anything else.  
_They called me "my lady"_, she thought, _They must think I'm some noblewoman or something. Maybe that's why I'm being taken up there. Oh no, I hope I don't get into trouble when they find out I'm not a noblewoman, I'd just be a "commoner" here in this time._

It took a little while to get to the top, where they passed through the massive gates of the castle. Kagome could see the gates were well oiled, and the locking mechanism was in place. Apparently they were used to having to defend the castle.  
They had passed through three separate gates on their way up here, each one attached to walls that surrounded sections of the land. Kagome could see how, if an army invaded, the people could be called in, and the gates closed. In this way, the majority of the land, and the people, were protected.  
_This place must get attacked a lot._  
Inside the main gates, the yard was paved with brick and cobblestone, swept clean. The walls looked somewhat fresh, as if only painted several months ago. Lanterns stood on poles, waiting to be lit. There was a lot of color and decoration everywhere. It was obviously a rather well-to-do place. Clean, well tended.  
As they walked, they passed a pool in the middle, water flowers blooming in the middle. Stone benches stood here and there, allowing people to sit and admire the beauty.  
All the people there, Kagome saw, looked happy. While they didn't walk around beaming like idiots, they spoke to each other as they passed, everyone on rather good terms with everyone else. Everyone wore lovely clothing, clean. Even those Kagome could tell were the servants of the place, seemed in good health, clean, and content.  
The man she had been following, the man she was coming to think of as "The General" for no real reason, turned and looked at her.  
"You carry medicinal herbs. Are you a healer, then?"  
"I...sort of."  
"Sort of?"  
"I'm..." Kagome searched for an answer, and ended up with, "I'm apprenticed. To a healer named Kaede."  
"Ah, in training then. Good. Follow me."  
He led her to a small building, the back of the building attached to one of the outter walls. There was a large trellis outside, with many herbs tied to it, in various stages of drying. Plants grew outside here as well, planted in large pots that were well watered. There were a lot of stone benches there, and even a few things that looked to Kagome like stone beds. She suddenly realized she was looking at what was basically a clinic. Herbs, medicines, and places for ill people to rest while waiting for treatment.  
_I've never seen anything like this in any history book,_ she thought.  
The General motioned to one of the benches, "Put your basket there. As well as your weapons."  
Kagome had placed her basket where he told her, but blinked at him, "My weapons?"  
He nodded, "No one may go armed in the presence of my Lord. I am sorry, my Lady, but those are the rules. I am sure you understand."  
"I...yes." She said simply. It was a common rule. And if she couldn't be injured, then there was no reason to insist she remain armed. She removed her bow, quiver, and sword, and placed them near her basket. She could almost hear InuYasha now, telling her she was an idiot for putting aside her weapons.  
Kagome turned, and followed The General. She noticed the other soldiers had all vanished, leaving to go back to guard duty, perhaps.  
The General led her through some more gates, and then up a small stairway, and into a large building.  
The minute they were inside, Kagome realized she was going to be presented before the Lord and Lady of the castle. The place suddenly became more opulant, a faint scent of flowers and inscence in the air. The colors in here were bolder, and brighter. Gold leaf brought medallions on walls out brilliantly. Exotic flowers stood in large pots against the walls.  
They approached a large door, with two guards standing on either side of it. The door was open, and the two guards saluted as The General and Kagome walked through.  
Kagome only caught sight of two tall chairs back against one wall before she lowered her eyes, as would be expected of a commoner in the presence of royalty. Keeping her eyes on the feet of The General, she stopped behind him, and prepared to kneel. She had no problems showing obesiance to the Lord and Lady - it didn't demean her in any way, and she had to act like she belonged there.  
But The General was already talking, "Here is the one you heard about, my Lord. The woman who defended several of our people from the demon attack."  
There was a long silence, and Kagome kept looking at her feet, not sure what she was supposed to do. No one said anything, and she started to figit.  
"Lift your head," came a male voice, "Don't lower your eyes, you have nothing to fear here."  
Kagome paused for a second, and then looked up.  
For a second, for a split second, she thought Sesshomaru was sitting on the chair before her. The silver hair, golden eyes, aristocratic face. She blinked at him in confusion for a minute, before she realized who she was looking at.  
_That's InuYasha's father!_  
"She looks shocked," spoke the woman at his side, and Kagome almost gasped to realize it was Izayoi.  
_It...it's..._  
"Don't be scared," Izayoi said, her voice soft and gentle. Kagome looked at her in utter shock. A small, detached part of her mind noticed that Izayoi and Izumi did indeed resemble each other, and she understood now why InuYasha had been so upset when he had first seen Izumi, and thought it was his mother.  
"Is it true?" InuTashio spoke, his voice shockingly deep and smooth. Kagome realized just how much Sesshomaru took after his father.  
"Is...uh.."  
"Is it true that you defended some of my people from the demon attack? I heard you killed one with an arrow, wounded a second, then drew a sword against a third."  
"I..." she swallowed hard, "Uh...yes. My Lord. I did." She just now realized InuTashio was wearing the crimson haori she was so used to seeing on InuYasha, though his hakama were black. Red embraoidery at the ankles set off the haori even more.  
"Interesting." He smiled.  
Kagome found herself flinching. When Sesshomaru smiled, it usually meant someone was about to be disemboweled.  
"She is a healer's apprentice," The General spoke.  
"Is she now?" Izayoi said, suddenly smiling as well. Like Izumi, it lit up her whole face, "Who are you apprenticed to, miss?"  
"Uh...her name is Kaede."  
"Kaede?" Izayoi frowned slightly, "I don't know that name."  
"She's not from around here," Kagome found herself saying, "That is, _I'm_ not from here."  
"Where are you from, then? And what is your name?"  
"I...my name is Kagome, my lady. And I live...really far away," she finished lamely.  
"And does this far away place have a name?" InuTashio said, bemused.  
"It's...uh...called...Miyazaki." Kagome reached for one of the most southern provinces in Japan, trying to remember what Miyazaki was even called during the Feudal periods.  
"Miyazaki," InuTashio said, leaning back in his chair, "Mmm. I have never heard of this place."  
Kagome metally sighed in relief, "Well, as I said my lord, it's very very far away."  
"And why are you here, then?"  
Kagome froze, "Uh..."  
At that moment, a side door to the throne room opened, and InuYasha walked in.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome stared.  
InuYasha stepped into the room, not even seeing Kagome. He was wearing a black-as-ink haori and hakama. The ends of the sleeves and hem around the ankles had the same crimson embroidery that InuTashio wore. A sword, not the Tetsusaiga, hung at his hip.  
His hair was the same, long, and wild, and silver. He was still barefoot. His eyes were still that startling gold color.  
"We managed to drive them back past the waterfalls," InuYasha said, speaking directly to his father, "but we lost any trace of them there. I have no idea where they're camping."  
"InuYasha," Izayoi spoke gently, "We have company."  
InuYasha blinked, and turned, and saw Kagome for the first time.  
"Ah..sorry." He backed up a few steps, and stood somewhat straight, watching his father.  
Kagome stared.  
She knew that in the company of others, even family members were expected to show deference to the Lord and Lady of a castle. When alone, it was likely any stiff formality would be abandoned, but in public, appearances were still upheld.  
Kagome continued to stare.  
He looked so different, and yet it was still InuYasha. And yet...  
The fact he had apologised so quickly, and was now just standing there, silent, startled her. InuYasha would normally have made some comment by now, about how he didn't care if there were people there or not, and would have probably just lazed back somewhere, looking bored as he waited for whatever he wanted to talk to his father about.  
If he didn't just keep talking regardless.  
_It's InuYasha, but he so different!_  
Kagome suddenly realized Izayoi had asked her something, and she looked back to the woman, blushing brilliantly, "Forgive me, what?"  
Izayoi smiled, "I asked if you had anyone coming for you, my lady."  
"Coming for me?"  
"Yes. You were travelling...certainly there must be someone waiting for you. When you fail to turn up, they'll come looking for you. If you like, we can send a messenger to them, letting them know you're safely here. They can come here and get you."  
"Oh...uh..no, I...I...uh..." Kagome stammered, having no idea what to say. She knew she sounded like an idiot, but she couldn't seem to get her brain in gear. She glanced at InuYasha, and saw he was looking at her now, curiously, making it worse.  
After a second, her brain finally seemed to wake up, "I...I wasn't really travelling here. I sort of got lost."  
"Lost?"  
"Yeah. I mean I...it's a very long story," she said weakly, "And I really don't want to take up any more of your time, my lord, my lady. I'm sure you must be very busy running all these lands and looking after all these people." Kagome mentally kicked herself, "If you don't mind, I'll just get my things and go again."  
Izayoi sat up a little straighter, "Absolutely not!"  
Kagome blinked, "Wh-what?"  
"These lands aren't safe for a lady to be travelling alone. We were attacked today, as you well know. And your actions shouldn't go unrewarded. Even if you hadn't defended those people, I couldn't possibly let you just leave here. Who knows what would happen to you?"  
InuYasha suddenly spoke, "Wait, is this the lady who defended those people on the road?"  
"She is indeed," InuTashio said.  
Kagome looked at InuYasha, startled to see him smiling at her, "I heard about that when I came in. I thought it was just rumor."  
Izayoi spoke, "You said you were an apprentice healer. Well, we have an old healer here who could use some help. I insist you stay here, and work with him, until we find some way to get you safely back to your people."  
She suddenly turned, looking at InuTashio, and her voice softened, "That is, of course, my Lord, if you have no objections."  
InuTashio softly chuckled, "None, my lady."  
Kagome watched the two of them quietly. Izayoi's tone clearly indicated she knew perfectly well her lord would not object to anything she wanted. InuTashio's laugh had hinted the same thing.  
_Were they like this before he died?_ she found herself wondering, _So happy?_  
Izayoi smiled softly at her husband, and then turned, looking down at her son, "InuYasha, please take the Lady Kagome to Gokkan's place and let him know he now has an apprentice?"  
"Sure," InuYasha nodded, and walked towards Kagome. He smiled, "Old man Gokkan's been complaining for an apprentice for awhile now, he'll finally have a reason to shut up."  
Izayoi spoke gently, chiding, "InuYasha."  
"What? It's true." He grinned, but grew serious when he stood before her, "Follow me, Lady Kagome, I'll take you to Gokkan's place."  
"Uh..ok, thank you."

They walked back outside, following the same path Kagome took when she arrived. Back out in the courtyard, they walked back to where Kagome left her things.  
She watched his back as he walked, almost hypnotised. His clothing was so black. And he looked bizarre with a different sword at his side. She knew it wasn't the Tetsusaiga because the hilt was well wrapped, with a darker material.  
Silently, he led her back to the stone bench, where her things were still sitting. There was an older man there now, and an old woman as well. Both were stooped with age, but well dressed. The old woman was younger than the old man, who was so covered in wrinkles his face resembled a withered plum.  
When they looked up and saw InuYasha and Kagome walking towards them, they both stopped talking and turned, bowing deeply to them. But Kagome noticed when they stood up, they raised their eyes, meeting both his and hers. There was respect there, but no fear.  
"This is the Lady Kagome," InuYasha said, introducing her to the two older people, "She's going to be your new apprentice, Master Gokkan."  
"Eh? Apprentice? And why didn't she come to me to ask?" the old man, Gokkan, said. He peered distrustfully at Kagome.  
"Oh hush," said the old woman, waving a hand at him, "You've been complaining you wanted an apprentice long enough. Take one that's given you!" She peered closely at Kagome, "A bit old, to just be starting out apprenticing though."  
"She's not starting out," InuYasha corrected them, "She's already apprenticed to someone named Kaede. While she's here, though, she'll continue training with you. That's what Father wants."  
Kagome stared at the back of InuYasha's head, still bemused at what she was seeing. And hearing.  
His voice was still InuYasha's voice, and yet it was so different. InuYasha's voice was normally loud, somewhat harsh. He always sounded on the edge of anger, and his voice showed it. There were only a few times it gentled, softened.  
His voice was like that now, more...gentle. Calm. It was still InuYasha...she'd know the voice anywhere. But more...relaxed.  
"Lady Kagome, hmm?" the old woman asked, giving Kagome another bow, "You're visiting Lord InuTashio and Lady Izayoi, then?"  
"I..."  
"Sort of," InuYasha said, an amused tone in his voice. Kagome blinked at him, not sure why he was going along with that.  
"Well, my wife and I are glad to have you here," Master Gokkan said, "We'll test you this afternoon, see how far along in your apprenticeship you are, hmm? Even if you're not that far, it's always good to share information. Your Lady Kaede might know something I don't, or vice versa."  
"Yes, of course."  
"We have an extra bed," the old woman said, "You're welcome here."  
"Uh...thank you."  
InuYasha turned, looking at Kagome, "If you need anything, let Lady Ooroti know," - here he cocked a thumb over his shoulder at the old woman, "She'll take care of it."  
"Th-thank you. Again."  
InuYasha nodded, and turned, walking away.  
Kagome watched him leave, feeling oddly breathless. It was so bizarre. It looked like InuYasha...sort of, and sounded like InuYasha...sort of.  
_Was this what Lady Izumi wanted me to see?_

The day passed rather quickly. She was tested by Master Gokkan on what she knew. He drilled her about teas, drinks, herbal powders, presses. Poultices. How to treat stab wounds. Burns. Cuts. Scrapes. Infections. Boils. Rashes. Bad stomaches. Sore throats. Stuffy heads. How to ease the pain of birth. How to ease the pain of death. What to give someone to knock them out so something stuck into the body could be removed. What to eat to encourage healing. What _not_ to eat.  
By the time the afternoon was over, Kagome felt she had gone through one of her trig tests. Her head was spinning, and she almost felt weak.  
Master Gokkan, though, was very pleased.  
"Your Lady Kaede is very knowledgable, and you've picked up quite a bit. Another year or so and I would say you'll be ready to start healing on your own."  
"Oh, thank you, that's very kind."  
The old man's wife came in, carrying a bowl of rice and steamed vegetables for her, "Here you are, you're probably hungry. Gokkan likes to drill people as if their lives depended on it."  
"They do!" the old man insisted, "Some day!"  
Kagome took the bowl with thanks, and picked up the offered chopsticks. She lifted the chopsticks, then paused, looking at the old woman.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Yes?"  
"Can you...tell me who has been attacking the castle?"  
Gokkan scowled, "There is a large band of demons, lead by a very powerful demon named Rohai. He is determined to own these lands. He cares nothing for the people, he just wants these lands, as they are rich in jewels."  
_That would explain the luxury I see,_ Kagome thought, and remembered Myoga telling her once that InuYasha's father once owned very valuable lands.  
"I'm sort of surprised that Lord InuTashio hasn't just wiped them out," Kagome said, "I..er...heard that he's very...good in battle."  
Ooroti cackled, "You could say that, yes. As are his sons. But a full-out war would decimate these lands. Right now, Lord InuTashio is gathering some allies, so that he can drive the enemy army out of these lands, and into a neighbours. There they can attack outright and wipe them all out!"  
Gokkan nodded, "He needs to make some allies. You can't jsut drive back an army into someone else's lands without that person tending to get a bit miffed. Once everyone is ok with the plans, Lord InuTashio will wipe them out, you'll see."  
Kagome took a bite of vegetable, then paused, looking at Master Gokkan, "You said...you said sons?"  
Lady Ooroti nodded, looking a little serious, "Yes. Our Lord has two sons. One from a demon woman he met before Lady Izayoi."  
"Sesshomaru."  
The old couple blinked.  
Kagome colored, and laughed weakly, "Oh, uh, you hear things, you know."  
Master Gokkan nodded, "Lord Sesshomaru."  
"And he isn't...here?"  
"No," Lady Ooroti shook her old head, "I'm afraid Lord Sesshomaru and Lord InuTashio had a falling-out. Families are so volatile, aren't they? He no longer comes around. I fear he's not welcome.  
Lord InuYasha is learning to lead Lord InuTashio's armies in Lord Sesshomaru's place."  
"He's too young," Master Gokkan said plainly.  
Lady Ooroti hushed him, "Don't say such things, it's disloyal!"  
"How is it disloyal?" Master Gokkan said, "I never said he was stupid! He's a gracious young Lord, and he's going to take his father's place in time, and be as good a ruler as Lord InuTashio! He's already showing a knack for the military. But he's young yet. Experience counts for a great deal."  
_That's what he was talking about when he walked into the room,_ Kagome thought, _He said something about pushing back the demons, but not finding their campsite. He must have just come back from a campaign or something._

Later that evening, there had been another attack on the lands. Kagome was called by Master Gokkan to go and tend to some soldiers that had been wounded.  
They paused outside the barracks, and Master Gokkan looked at her, "You're a good apprentice, Kagome, but do you have an actual experience with bad wounds?"  
"I..."  
"Injured soldiers can be...messy. It's frightening, especially to a young woman. Perhaps you should stay out here."  
"No, I'm fine, I've seen injured people before. And you'll need me."  
"Very well then, but if you feel faint or frightened, don't be ashamed to leave. Don't stay and pass out, or worse, vomit on someone injured."  
"I understand."  
Master Gokkan nodded, and pushed open the doors.  
Kagome instantly smelled the hot coppery smell of blood, and the moans and cries of the injured filled her ears.  
Soldiers lay around the barracks on blankets, benches. Some sat, holding broken arms, or severe injuries. Many sat holding their heads as blood ran down their arms.  
She found herself looking for a crimson haori, then shook her head, looking for an ink-black one. But she didn't see InuYasha anywhere, which was probably good.  
Master Gokkan opened his mouth to speak, watching Kagome closely, for signs of fear or panic, but Kagome spoke first, cutting him off, "I'll look after these over here," he pointed to a group of men who had deep cuts and gouges. "I don't have any training for anything worse than this, ok?"  
Master Gokkan nodded, surprised at how well she was taking it. He had expected a young woman to be horrified, shocked, even scared, at the blood, the the sounds of injured men.  
Kagome walked over to the group of injured men, and put down her baskets and bottles, and started talking.

Master Gokkan was pleased. He hadn't lost anyone. Some of the injuries had been pretty horrific...one man even had his stomach cut open, his intestines having spilled out. But he had been able to administer the opium to keep the man calm while his insides were cleaned, placed back inside the body's cavity, and sewn up. Master Gokkan had a good feeling about that man, he was likely to make it, as long as he remembered to keep drinking his tea to fight off any infection.  
"Master Gokkan."  
The healer turned to see the young Lord walking towards him. It was hard to see, but the black haori was splashed with blood. There was dried blood on his hands, and even his face.  
"Lord InuYasha," Master Gokkan bowed to him, looking him over, "Are you injured?"  
"It's nothing," InuYasha said, "a few small cuts. How did we do in here, I...I didn't lose any of my men, did I?"  
"No, young Lord. We saved them all. There were a few bad ones here, but I think they will all make it."  
"Good," InuYasha smiled, looking relieved.  
"And...if I may ask...on the field of battle?"  
The smile left the young Lord's face, "We lost some. We stayed to make sure all who survived were brought back for healing. But anyone still out there...well...healing won't do anything for them now."  
Master Gokkan sighed, "Ah. Well...that is war, young Lord."  
InuYasha looked away, "Yeah. I guess."  
He blinked, just now noticing something, "Is that your new apprentice?"  
Master Gokkan turned his head to see the young woman wrapping up an arm. Her light blue haori was splotched with blood. There was a small blotch on a cheek as well, but her hands were relatively clean. He noticed she had a bowl of hot water at her feet, and she continually washed her hands after treating each person, scrubbing them hard in the hot water.  
"Yes, that is Lady Kagome."  
"You're making her treat wounded soldiers already? That's a bit harsh, isn't it?"  
"I didn't make her do anything," Master Gokkan chuckled, "She was quite willing to come in here on her own."  
"She doesn't seem to be letting the sight of the blood upset her."  
"No indeed. When I tested her today, I had assumed she was in training for a healer of sicknesses and colds. A child's healer. She is obviously a woman of some nobility - she has lovely manners and a very polite, though odd, way of speaking. I did not expect her to handle the sight of blood. But she is obviously stronger than I thought. If she keeps up her training, she will be a full healer in no time, massive injuries and all."  
"Huh." InuYasha continued to watch her. She was definately strange.  
"If you'll excuse me, young Lord," Master Gokkan bowed again, and turned back to one of his patients.  
InuYasha walked towards the young woman.

Kagome tied off the bandage with a tight knot. She checked it over, making sure it was secure.  
_I wish I had some penicillan. And asprin. Heck, even some Polysporin would go a long way!_  
The wounded soldier flexed his hand, testing the bandage, and then smiled at her, "Thank you, My Lady, it already feels much better!"  
"Well, take it easy," Kagome said to him, "If you use it too much, the cut will reopen and bleed. Keep it dry and clean, ok? It's very important you keep it clean. If it gets dirty or bleeds again, wash it with boiled water. Don't let the bandages get dirty. Um...if you need more bandages, come find me, I'm at Master Gokkan's place."  
"Oh, I couldn't bother you, My Lady! I'll just wrap it with something if it starts to bleed again."  
"No," Kagome's voice was forceful, "You really need to keep it clean. If it gets dirty it'll get infected. I can't stress how important it is you keep it clean. Did you see the herbs I used in the water?"  
"Uh, yeah. I see those all over the place."  
She smiled, "Good. If you have to re-wrap it, take some of them, boil them in water, and wash it with the water, ok? It will really, really help."  
The soldier smiled, "Thank you, My Lady, you're so kind!"  
Kagome watched as he stood up, and walked away.  
She sighed, turning to the hot water. It was cooling, and was only now somewhat warm. She kept getting younger children who were there to run and fetch to bring her hot water so she could wash her hands. She wished for some good, strong, antibacterial soap, but she imagined soap was a luxury here, so good hot water would have to do.  
"How are you doing?"  
Kagome looked up, startled, to see InuYasha standing over her, looking down. She almost knocked over the little bucket of water, and managed to straighten them.  
"Uh...I...uh...I'm good, thanks."  
"Master Gokkan says you handled yourself pretty good in here," he studied her, almost as if he were looking for something he could point to and understand why she seemed odd.  
"Oh really?" she smiled, "Well, this isn't my first time patching up injured people. I've had to bandage up In - uh..bandage up in a lot of different places," she finished lamely.  
"And yet you're upset by blood?"  
Kagome blinked at him, "Upset? I'm not upset. I mean I don't revel in it or anything, but I'm not upset by it."  
"Oh?" he pointed to the bucket of reddish water, "You hate to have it on your hands."  
"That's not it," Kagome suddenly laughed, "I'm just washing up."  
InuYasha blinked. Was this woman laughing at him? "Washing up? Why don't you save water and wait until you're finished?"  
"Because that's dirty!"  
InuYasha blinked again.  
Kagome paused, _They might not know about how it works here. Maybe only the healers understand..._  
"If I get someone's blood on me, and then touch someone else, and get that blood on another person, I might make that other person sick, understand? You can stop infection that way."  
InuYasha just looked at her, not sure if what she was saying was true. She might just be crazy. Or smarter than he thought.  
"What about you?" Kagome suddenly asked, looking at him, _"You_ weren't hurt, were you?"  
InuYasha shrugged, "Not much. A few cuts."  
"Let me see."  
InuYasha blinked at her, "What?"  
Kagome turned to him, "Let me see them, I'll bandage them up while I'm here. I have everything I need."  
The young lord looked at her like she _was_ crazy, "I'm fine."  
"You just said you had cuts, didn't you? Well, let me see them. Your haori is bloody, it's your chest, right? Come on, open your haori."  
InuYasha just looked at her, and she was suddenly startled to see him blushing, "You can't just take off my shirt!"  
"I'm not going to!" Kagome said, uneasy, blushing back, "You are! I just want to see if you need bandaging or something."  
"Master Gokkan heals me. He will look after if it I think I need it."  
"You're just being silly. I have everything I need right here, why not let me look at it?"  
Kagome watched his face, growing confused. Why on earth was he looking at her like that?  
"Did...did you just call me _silly_?" he asked.  
"Well...I mean you-"  
Kagome suddenly stopped, shocked. She was so used to just ordering InuYasha around, making him let her look after his injuries, she had completely forgotten where she was. This InuYasha didn't know her, and he was a young feudal lord.  
"I...I'm so sorry!" she said, turning and starting to pack away her things, "I didn't mean...of course you're not silly, it just slipped out. Don't listen to me, I'm babbling. Maybe all the blood went to my head."  
_'All the blood went to my head'? What is that supposed to mean!?_  
"Alright...go ahead."  
Kagome looked back, startled to see him sitting before her, his haori and white gi undone. There were several deep gouges on his chest, where it looked like something had clawed him. As she expected, they were healing rather well, looking like they had been done a day or two ago, not this afternoon. But they were still bloody, and needed treatment.  
She opened a small clay jar, and poured some herbal water on a cloth. Turning to him, she started washing the dried blood of his chest, "That looks like a claw mark."  
He was watching her face closely, curiously, "That's right."  
"It looks painful."  
He said nothing.  
Kagome grew a little uneasy as he watched her face. It was like he was looking for something there, as if he were expecting to find her frightened or disgusted by the wound.  
"This is where you're supposed to say, "You should see the other guy," she said, then kicked herself mentally again.  
InuYasha just blinked.  
She finished cleaning the wound, then smeared some salve on it. She wished she had some of her bandages and adhesive tape, "Do you want me to wrap it, or..."  
"No, this is good. It'll dry." he stood up, putting his gi together and tying it loosely. He left his haori untied.  
Kagome quickly gathered up her things, leaving a couple lying where they were, and stood, walking swiftly towards where she saw Master Gokkan. He finished talking to one of the soldiers, and then turned to her.  
"I watched you. You did well. Better than I expected, to be honest."  
She smiled, "Thanks."  
He led her outside, where they started back towards the healing hut.  
"I saw you treating Lord InuYasha's injuries."  
"Uh...yes."  
"You _do_ know that only _I_ am supposed to treat the royal family, yes?"  
Kagome blinked, tripping over her feet, "What? No! I'm sorry! I didn't know!"  
He nodded, watching her closely, "Only a master is supposed to treat the royal family. Their health cannot be trusted to an apprentice, no matter how well trained she may be."  
"I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't know!"  
Master Gokkan watched her, a severe frown on his face, and just when Kagome was about to apologise again, he chuckled, "You did a very good job. I'm surprised Lord InuYasha allowed you to do that - he's usually very particular about that. But he didn't come to me after, so he must have been impressed with what you did."  
_No wonder he was looking at me like I was crazy. I was basically insisting he let an apprentice treat his wounds._

The sun had set, and the moon was rising. Someone was going around lighting the lanters on the posts throughout the castle grounds. Fireflies came out near the lake, glimmering like fallen stars.  
Kagome sat outside on a stone bench, looking up at the night sky.  
_Ok, so I've seen InuYasha here. His parents are alive. He's in training. He seems happy here, I guess. What am I supposed to see?_  
"Lady Kagome?"  
Kagome looked down, startled to see him walking towards her. In the low light his ink-black haori almost seemed to vanish, making his hair and face seem that much more vibrant. As she had seen before, in the low light, his eyes seemed almost luminous, the way an animal's may seem to glow. Once again she was struck by how wild he seemed sometimes, his non-human-ness so apparent.  
"Uh..In- - Lord InuYasha. What are you doing out here?" She cursed herself, suddenly offering him a rather weak bow. She was going to have to remember to treat him as a young Lord if she wanted to see whatever it was Izumi wanted her to see. She wasn't used to calling InuYasha "Lord", not bowing to him, but she had to start remembering.  
"You left this behind, at the barracks," he said, and held out a basket to her. Inside were the herbs she had used to make the hot water anti-bacterial.  
She took the basket, "Oh, I forgot...thank you very much for bringing them back to me, I would have hated to lose them."  
InuYasha said nothing, just watched her face for a minute. Then he spoke, "May I sit?"  
"Of course!" she moved far down on the bench, so he could sit. Why was he even asking her? She was a commoner here.  
InuYasha sat beside her, and watched her for a second, before turning his gaze to the outside of the massive wall. From where they sat, they could look down into the fields below. The tiny farmer's huts were lit up from within as the families sat inside and ate, talking.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Kagome blinked, turning to him. What did he mean? Why would he ask that?  
Did he somehow _know_ her? That was impossible!  
"What...what do you mean?"  
He turned his head, and regarded her, "What is a noblewoman doing walking up the path to my father's castle, wearing a bow, a sword, and carrying healing herbs? Where did you get your training? You're not the least frightened of blood. And you seemed comfortable in the barracks. Nothing about you adds up. My father's too busy with this war to give much thought to it, but I have. Who are you, and why are you here?"  
Kagome blinked, at a loss. Now what was she supposed to say.  
"I..."  
He just watched her.  
"My name is Kagome, Higurashi Kagome, like I told you. And I'm not...I'm not a noblewoman. I'm just a commoner. And I -am- a healer's apprentice. I've seen...I've seen a lot of blood. It doesn't upset me anymore. I mean, I don't know if I could have taken over for Master Gokkan when he - oh! I'm so sorry I sort of made you let me heal you! I didn't realize...I mean I wasn't thinking at all!"  
InuYasha shook his head, "Forget about that. What you're saying doesn't make sense. You're a healer, I accept that. And you have obviously seen injured men before, I accept that too. But you're trying to tell me you're a commoner?"  
"I am!"  
InuYasha suddenly laughed, his face seeming to light up, "Sure you are. A commoner with manners and proper table manners. A commoner who has no trouble whatsoever looking a lord in the eye and talking, who forgets to add the proper title to a name. Who forgets to bow? Lady Kagome, I hope you forgive me when I say you're a terrible liar."  
_How do I explain? He'll think I'm completely insane if I tell him I know him from another world or something._  
InuYasha continued, "You forgot my title a few times, and forget to bow to me. What that tells me is that you're used to talking to a lord on an equal footing. That makes you a Lady. You're not shy about meeting my eyes when we talk either. That boldness is only found in the Ladies of the upper courts." He frowned, "I've never heard of a Lord Higurashi, though."  
"It's...it's...it's..." Kagome faltered.  
"So with that out of the way, my next question is, what are you doing _here_?"  
_I don't know how to act like a Lady! How do I pull this off?_  
"Well...you...uh...found me out, I guess. Never realized what a bad actress I was."  
InuYasha waited.  
"I..." she faltered for a second, then plunged on ahead, "Ok, this is going to sound crazy, but I'm from another...place. Really far away."  
He smiled, "Yes you've said that already."  
"Oh. Right. Well...then you know."  
"What 'place' did you come from, Lady Kagome? Do they all talk like you there?"  
She blushed, "What do you mean? What's wrong with how I talk?"  
InuYasha laughed again, and Kagome blinked.  
_Is he __**teasing**__ me?_  
"You have a different manner of talking, is all. But I do want to know where you come from. Where is this 'far away place'? How did you get here?"  
Kagome sighed, "Will you just...accept that I'm here for a while? I know it's weird, but I promise you that I'm not here to cause any trouble, or hurt anyone. I'm just supposed to...see something here."  
He frowned, "See something? See what?"  
"I have no idea."  
His ears flicked, "This is starting to sound like a child's fairy tale."  
"Yeah," she said weakly, "I know."  
They fell silent for a few minutes, and she spoke again.  
"How did your fight go today?"  
He blinked, looking at her.  
"Well, you know, your...battle? I mean, your men were injured, as were you. You must have gotten that fighting, right? Master Gokkan said that we didn't lose any men to injuries, so it must have gone well."  
InuYasha turned his gaze out to the fields below, his voice suddenly tight, "Some men died on the field."  
Kagome watched his face, "Oh."  
An ear flicked. Kagome knew him well enough to know that meant he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut.  
"Well...it's war, after all," she said lamely.  
InuYasha suddenly stood up, his voice hard, "You don't know anything about it, being a woman."  
Kagome blinked up at him, feeling the words rising up out of her throat. Because she was a woman? How dare he, what did he-  
She swallowed them back, and spoke calmly, "Being a woman doesn't mean I'm not aware you must be upset and angry that you lost men."  
He didn't move, remained back -on to her.  
Kagome waited for him to leave, and was surprised he remained where he was for a minute.  
After a second, he spoke, his voice low and unsure.  
"Everyone is telling me not to get upset. That it's bound to happen, that's "it's war'. "  
Kagome spoke, "No one really knows what to say to make you feel better. I'm sorry I said that too. It's one of those stupid things you say when you don't know what else to say."  
He didn't speak, didn't move.  
"I can imagine you're upset," she said, "I would be. I mean...you feel responsible for those men. You're in charge, so if they die, it's your fault."  
He didn't move.  
"But sometimes you can't make the right choice, In-Lord InuYasha. Because there _is_ no right choice, you know? I'm sure if there had been any way you could have made sure those men survived, you would have. But there wasn't, was there?"  
Pause.  
"No," his voice was very quiet, "There wasn't."  
Kagome said nothing else. What else could she say to that? It was a terrible reality of war. Sometimes, no matter what a person did...people died.  
"This is going to sound stupid, but...it's good you're upset."  
He shifted, looking over a shoulder at her.  
She watched him, "It means you'll try harder next time."  
His voice was angry, "That doesn't help the people that died today. That doesn't help their families."  
She spoke gently, "No. It doesn't. But it would be worse if you didn't learn anything, I-Lord InuYasha. It's not much, but it's something."  
He looked back out to the fields for a moment, absorbing her words, then nodded.  
"Yeah."  
There was a pause, then he looked back at her, "Thank you."  
"Oh," Kagome laughed, wondering why she was blushing, "No problem. In - Lord In-"  
"Just call me InuYasha," he interrupted. A faint smile was on his face, "It's easier."  
Kagome laughed a little, "I'm sorry. I really am."  
"You were saying?"  
"Uhh...keep...an eye on those wounds. Until they completely heal, I mean."  
He nodded, "I will. Good evening, Lady Kagome."  
She nodded, and he turned, heading back towards the palace proper.  
Kagome silently watched him go.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning she awoke feeling odd. The whole conversation with Lord InuYasha last night had her feeling strange. Despite having grown up in different circumstances, he still had some of his older ways about him. She guessed that was just him. But he was so different too. Less hostile for one. More settled. The really weird thing was that even though he was probably more relaxed, _she_ felt strange around him. Like she wasn't sure what to do now. He behaved differently than she was expecting, said what she wasn't expecting.  
After breakfast Master Gokkan sent her out to get some herbs. They needed red fennel, and most had been used on the injured soldiers.  
"But do not go far," he told her, "You can collect some just down on the edges of the fields. Don't go out past the stone walls, it's too dangerous. Stay where you can safely get back to the guards."  
"I will, don't worry."  
Kagome gathered up her baskets, and started down.  
The walk took about an hour. Lord InuTashio's lands were enormous, and she didn't have her bicycle. But the day was nice and sunny. There was no drought here, that was for certain.  
_I wonder if I've come back in time yet __**again**__? I'm pretty sure Lady Izumi said I would be in a sort of alternate world. While asleep.  
This is weird. I'm in the Feudal Era, dreaming about being before a feudal era in another reality. Talk about a jigsaw puzzle._  
Kagome skirted the edges of a rice paddy, walking along the raised mound of dirt. Her eyes had already picked out the red fennel, and she set her basket down and knelt.  
_For a dream, it's very realistic. I get hungry, tired...I feel pain. I'm glad Izumi told me about that, I have no desire to experience getting run through with a sword, even if it can't kill me._  
She looked up to see several farmers working out in the field, using small rafts to float out to the rice plants and knock the rice into buckets. When they saw her, they often raised a hand, waving lightly to her.  
Kagome smiled, and waved back.  
"Here you are."  
Blinking, Kagome looked behind her to see InuYasha and The General riding up to her on horses.  
She stood, watching. It was strange to see InuYasha on horse...she couldn't remember ever seeing him on one. He always preferred to run on his own two feet.  
InuYasha slid down off his horse, and approached her.  
"What...what are you doing out here?" Kagome asked.  
"We're heading into the village proper, I have to deliver a few things for my parents. Master Gokkan told me you were out here collecting herbs." InuYasha horse nickered, nudging his back. Absently, he patted it's nose.  
"Does he need me for anything?" Kagome asked, wondering why InuYasha would come looking for her.  
"Not at all," the General said, smiling, "But Lord InuYasha was worried you may have strayed outside the walls."  
Kagome blinked to see InuYasha with a faint blush on his face, "We _are_ under attack, Hoshimiro."  
"Of course," the General - Hoshimiro, nodded, giving a light bow while still in his saddle. He grinned at the back of InuYasha's head.  
"Are you just about done?" InuYasha asked Kagome, "I can give you a ride back to Master Gokkan's once we make our deliveries."  
"I...ah. Yes, I...I'm done, but...you don't have to go through the bother."  
"It's no bother." InuYasha turned back to his large bay horse and leapt up with ease. Kagome handed up her basket and he tucked it into the pack attached to the saddle. Then he offered his hand.  
Kagome took his hand, wondering where she was supposed to put her foot to jump up, and was startled when he easily pulled her off the ground, pulling her up to sit behind him.  
Kagome now had no idea what to do with her hands. She wasn't used to horses, and had no idea just how high they were. There were no handles anywhere, nothing to hold onto.  
InuYasha looked over his shoulder at her, "Ok?"  
"Uh...yeah."  
"Hold on," he said.  
He turned the horse, and for a second Kagome felt like she was going to fall clear off the horse's butt. She grabbed onto InuYasha, trying not to fall, and at the same time, trying hard to not actually have her arm around him.  
She heard InuYasha laugh, and grab ahold of her arm. He pulled it tighter around his waist, calling back to her, "I'm serious, hold on! Kaze likes to run!"  
"O..ok!"  
She felt the horse under her lurch forward, and then it seemed they were flying. The trees whipped past in a blur of green. InuYasha's hair remained tamed, as it was trapped between him and Kagome, but Kagome's blew out behind her like a black pennant.  
Kagome had never felt the power of a fast horse before, and she found herself breathless. Each stride of the horse, and she could feel it's muscles stretching out, and then pulling together under her. It was like sitting on top of a bullet train...only a thousand times better.  
The horse dodged through the trees, whipping left and right, and Kagome felt how InuYasha guided it with his own body, leaning this way and that, forward, then backwards. It was as if the hanyou and the horse were a single entity, moving together in a wonderful motion.  
They left the forest behind, coming up over a rise, where they could look down below. Kaze slowed to a trot, but blew air, stamping slightly, still wanting to run. He danced in place for a second, before InuYasha's firm, soft words calmed it, and it stood, catching it's breath.  
InuYasha looked over his shoulder at her, "Sorry, he needs to run from time to time. Blow off energy."  
"It's ok!" Kagome grinned up at him, wild-eyed, her hair a wild mess every which way, "It was amazing!"  
He paused, looking at her closer, "You're ok with it?"  
"Yes! He's so fast!" she laughed, "It was...it was like flying! I loved it!"  
He blinked, startled, then smiled.  
Kagome brushed some of her hair out of her face, looking over her own shoulder, "Where's General Hoshimiro?"  
"His horse can't keep up - he'll be along." He paused, _"General_?"  
Kagome looked back, and suddenly blushed, "Ah...I didn't know his name. It's what I thought of him as. You know, because he looks so..."  
InuYasha laughed.  
Kagome smiled at him, unable to help herself. InuYasha laughed like that so rarely.  
_Her_ InuYasha, that was.  
_I mean, the InuYasha I know._  
"There he is, the slowpoke."  
The other horse came trotting up over the rise, moving along at an easy pace. He called to them, "I thought I'd bring up the rear to pick up Lady Kagome when she fell off."  
"Hah!" InuYasha grinned at Hoshimiro, "She's smart enough to hold on tight."  
The two horses turned, and they made their way down into the village.

The village seemed rather well to do. Even the farmers wore good clothing, nothing faded or patched here. The children were well-fed. Everyone seemed healthy and happy.  
_This place does well. No one is poor, not even the lowest farmer. I guess Lord InuTashio makes sure his subject's produce is sold at good value.  
I like this place._  
They only had 2 stops to make before they were ready to head back to the castle. Hoshimiro met up with some soldiers, and took them out on patrol.  
"I should join you," InuYasha said to him, frowning.  
"No, Lord InuYasha. You took the patrol out yesterday. It's good that you want to take responsibility, but you can't overdo it, either. Even you have to take turns, and not overdo it.  
Besides, you gave them a good fight yesterday. I will be very surprised if we encounter any demons at all out there."  
"Alright."  
They watched as he led his horse off, a squad of soldiers walking in two lines behind him.  
"He..he's good at what he does, isn't he?" Kagome asked.  
"Hoshimiro? The best. Father paid him a lot of money to come here and take over the soldiers. Now he stays out of loyalty, of course.  
Everyone is very loyal to my father."  
That last was said in a strange tone, that made Kagome peer up, trying to look into his face. But InuYasha was watching as Hoshimiro led the men out.  
After a second, he turned Kaze, looking back at her again, "Can you take more running?"  
"Yes!"  
Grinning, he turned, and gave the bay open rein.

Kaze arrived inside the palace gates with a flurry of hooves, dust, and leaves. If Kagome didn't know any better, she would have thought Kaze was a demon horse. The speed with which the horse ran was unreal, and it didn't really seem to show any sign of tiring.  
Kagome almost felt light headed as InuYasha slid off the horse and helped her down. He took the basket of herbs from the gear and handed it to her.  
She smiled, "Thanks."  
He watched her for a second, as she turned and walked towards the building. She had just reached the door, when he suddenly called her name.  
Kagome stopped, looking over her shoulder, "Yes?"  
He seemed to be trying to decide if he should talk or not. It looked like something the old InuYasha would do, and it caught her off guard. She turned back to him, "InuYasha?"  
"Can I...talk to you for a minute?"  
"Sure, what is it?"  
"I mean...over there," he motioned to the side of the building, out of the way, half in shadow.  
"Oh. Uh...sure, just let me drop off these herbs."  
He nodded.  
Kagmome slipped inside, putting the basket on the table. She looked at Ooroti, telling her she would be right back in a second, and went back outside.  
Kaze stood in the shade of the building, and InuYasha stood before him, lightly rubbing the horse's nose. He seemed to be talking to the horse, so low Kagome couldn't hear what he was saying. InuYasha quickly saw her approaching, and turned to her.  
"Ok, what is it, is anything wrong?"  
"No, I...uh..." Kagome was startled to see InuYasha had started to blush slightly. He wasn't so much self-conscious...being a young feudal lord tended to make one comfortable with themselves...so much as he simply wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say.  
"My father, Lord InuTashio, had to leave this morning. He's meeting with some of the men I was telling you about last night."  
"Yes, to make allies."  
"Right. Well...I should have gone with him, but there are things happening here that someone is supposed to take care of, so I had to stay."  
Kagome nodded, growing mystified.  
"If my _half-brother_," InuYasha's words were clipped, "Wasn't such an idiot, he would be with father...so I guess I'd still be here anyway...so that doesn't really matter, does it?"  
"Uh...no." Kagome waited. She was sure eventually he would start making sense.  
"Anyway, you may have noticed that the palace is busier than normal today. Well, there's this event that's supposed to happen tonight. It's a yearly thing...we have people come from all over, and re-new old ties and things. There's food and music, and storytelling. Things like that. There's this big bonfire that has to be lit."  
"Sure, ok."  
InuYasha brushed his bangs out of his face for a second, still talking. It was weird to see him acting somewhat nervously, but his voice remained steady and calm. She guessed being nervous was new to him.  
"It should be my father who does it, but he's not here, so I have to."  
Kagome nodded, still waiting.  
"I don't usually even go to this...I'm not...big gatherings...I don't really enjoy them."  
"I know."  
InuYasha blinked, "What?"  
"Uh, I mean, I guessed. You...don't seem the type to be into that."  
Kaze whickered, almost as if laughing. InuYasha unconsciously patted the horse's neck.  
"Yeah. So...anyway...mother says that seeing I'm the only male child of my father's, I have to. So I don't have a choice."  
"Ok."  
"The thing is I...well, I...I'm supposed to be attended."  
"Attended?"  
"Yeah, you know."  
Kagome just looked at him, "Attended by who?"  
"By...a woman."  
Kagome blinked.  
"Just...you know. It's supposed to be this harmony...thing. Black, white, yin, yang, man, woman, like that. So I have to have a woman at my side."  
Kagome started to feel panicked, "Oh."  
"Would you...I mean...is there...could I..."  
"There...there must be...a lot of royal ladies here. I've already seen a couple."  
Kagome thought about the ones she had seen. They had looked like beautiful dolls, hair up in exotic, elaborate styles, long flowing robes. Brilliant jewlery. They rode in wagons drawn by beautiful horses, holding expensive fans up to their faces. She had been wondering just what was going on.  
InuYasha shook his head, almost wincing, "You're talking about Lady Aiko and Lady Momoko. They're the only two near my age. If you knew anything about them, you wouldn't ask me to be attended by them."  
"But..."  
InuYasha looked panicked, "Lady Aiko does nothing but talk about poetry. Nothing. She composes it on the spot, constantly. And it's _bad_."  
Kagome blinked, and burst out laughing. She clapped her hands to her mouth, trying to still it, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh."  
InuYasha half grinned, "You wouldn't laugh at all if you heard any of it."  
She laughed again.  
"And Lady Momoko doesn't talk. At all. Period."  
"Maybe she's shy."  
"She's not shy, I don't think there's a single thought in her head."  
Kagome spoke before she knew it, "InuYasha, that's a mean thing to say!"  
InuYasha blinked at her. Kagome blushed brightly, "I'm sorry, I had no right to say that."  
"You...you're right. It wasn't nice. But it's true all the same. These things are so boring, Lady Kagome. Sometimes I want to fall on my sword right there, just to end it."  
"Well I certainly can't just jump up and start juggling if you get bored."  
He blinked again, then shook his head, "No, but you...you're not...I can talk to you."  
"I don't-"  
"You're not stupid or empty headed. If you attend me it...it won't be so bad."  
"I.." Kagome looked at him, wide-eyed.  
"Lady Kagome, you must have gone to these things before. You say you're not a noblewoman, but I still say you must be. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. There's nice music, and food, and I hear the storytellers are the best."  
"I...I can't."  
"Lady Kagome-"  
"No," she shook her head firmly. She did _not_ want to go on a...a date with InuYasha. Even _this_ InuYasha. She had been to things like this before with the old InuYasha, and things...things always got...close.  
"I can't," she said, "I don't have anything to wear."  
"You..."  
Kagome motioned to her haori and hakama, "This is all I have. Well, this and another like it. Good for healing and picking herbs and things. I didn't exactly bring a trunk of clothing with me. So I can't. Just...go ask Lady Momoko, and pretend she's shy or something."  
"You...you won't attend me?"  
"No. I'm sorry."  
Kagome turned, walking back towards the little building. InuYasha had looked at her a little surprised, and even a tiny bit offended.  
_He's probably used to getting his own way, being a young lord. But I'm not giving in. Besides, I simply can't._  
She went inside, and closed the door.

Lunchtime came, and Kagome and the two elders had lunch. Kagome set up the herbs to dry, and helped Master Gokka boil some linen to cut up for bandages. No one knew when there was going to be another attack, and all the supplies had to be ready.  
Kagome went with Master Gokka when he returned to the barracks to check up on the men. Most of the soldiers were healing up wonderfully. The ones Kagome had worked on were eager to show her how well they were healing. Kagome told Master Gokka the soldiers were happy she had done a good job. Master Gokka told Kagome the soldiers were _indeed_ happy she had done a good job, and the fact she was a lovely young woman ensured they would come back to thank her profusely. Which most of them did, until Kagome started feeling foolish. Some of them acted as if she had sewn back on severed legs, not patched up arm wounds. A number were quick to show her how well it was healing by lifting heavy objects and bearing their arms, ensuring their muscles popped. They were so obviously attempting to impress her she was getting ready to bolt by the time Master Gokka finished his own checks, and they returned to the small building.  
Lady Ooroti was outside, sitting on a stone bench, sewing a tiny tear in a shirt under the bright sun.  
"Ah, and how are our soldiers?"  
"Excellent!" Gokka said, "In perfect health, and feeling well enough to try and show off for our young apprentice here."  
"I see." Lady Ooroti smiled, then looked up at Kagome, "I think you need to go check your bed, dear."  
"My bed?" Kagome blinked, "I made my bed this morning, didn't I?" Kagome started towards the building.  
"Yes, you did."  
Kagome pushed back the door, and went inside.  
She walked towards her small bed, noticing right away there were several boxes lying there, as well as a few on the floor beside her bed.  
"What on earth..."  
Kagome took ahold of one of the boxes, and lifted up the lid.  
And yelped.  
A long kimono lay in the box, folded, nestled amid fine rice paper. In the low light inside, it was hard to tell, but Kagome thought it was a light green.  
Panicking, she started tearing off the lids of all the boxes within reach.  
_"He didn't! He couldn't!"_  
Lady Ooroti walked in, grinning. She pushed open the shutters on the small window, letting in the sunlight.  
When all was laid bare, Kagome stared speechless at the bounty on her bed.  
Three furisode kimono lay in their boxes, looking like living flowers. The colors were utterly brilliant. One was pure white with cherry blossoms embroidered all over them, small spots of the palest pink, darkening to a deeper pink in the center of each blossom. The obi was the same color as the darkest pink.  
Another was a brilliant dark blue, and the color seemed to fade out to the palest hue, almost a white, down at the hem. The obi was a mid blue. The third was a brilliant green with orange flowers all over it. The edges of the flowers were embroidered with actual gold thread, and it glittered in the sunlight.  
Two pairs of geta sat on the floor, with tabi, or the split-toed socks.  
The other boxes contained various ornamental hairpins, combs, and jewelry. Under the sunlight, it all glittered like treasure.  
_I can't believe he did this!_  
Kagome took ahold of one of the kimono, the blue one, and held it up. It was a true furisode, very long, the sleeves almost as long as the hem.  
"This is real silk!" Kagome cried.  
"What else would you expect?" Lady Ooroti chuckled, "Linen?"  
"I mean real _silk_!" Kagome cried again, "Not satin! Or Brocade! Or even silkweave!"  
"I have no idea what those words are."  
_Real silk furisode kimono! I'm looking at more money than my mom makes in a year!_  
Kagome heard his voice outside, and she turned, walking out.  
InuYasha stood there, talking to Master Gokkan. When he saw her, he turned, grinning at her, obviously pleased with himself.  
"Did they deliver them?"  
"You...I...I..."  
Kagome bit back the words she wanted to say. She couldn't start yelling at him, he was a feudal lord here. She turned, walking towards the shadowed area again. InuYasha followed her over, still smiling.  
Kagome turned to him, making sure her voice was low.  
_"You bought me kimono?"_ he almost hissed.  
"Yes! You said you didn't have any. Were they ok? I just told the kimono maker to send over two or three of the best he had, along with whatever else you'd need. I'll have a cart brought around at sundown, is that ok?"  
"You...you can't just...buy me kimono!"  
He blinked, "Why not?"  
"You...it..." desperately, she tried another ploy, "They...they must have cost so much! I..I can't accept them!"  
InuYasha shrugged, "He just added them to my records."  
"You can't just expect your father to pay for kimono for me!"  
InuYasha looked at her, confused, "Of course I don't. I paid for them."  
"It's the same thing!"  
InuYasha laughed, "No it's not. I have money. I don't buy much, I won't even notice it." He watched her face, "Were they nice? Do you like them?"  
"They're beautiful, but I can't..."  
"Yes. You can," he nodded, ending the conversation, "Is sundown ok for you?"  
"I..." Kagome looked at him weakly. How had she lost so quickly? "Yeah. Sundown is fine."  
"Perfect."  
She watched as he walked off, wondering where she had lost control of the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh my goodness."  
Master Gokkan stood, staring at Kagome, astonishment on his wrinked face. Lady Oorotai beamed, "Isn't she beautiful?"  
Kagome stood looking at them, not sure what to say or do. There were no mirrors in the small healer's building, so she had no idea what she looked like.  
She wore, on Lady Oorotai's insistance, the white cherry blossom kimono.  
"I can't wear the white one!" Kagome cried, "I'll get it dirty just by standing still!"  
"Nonsense! You will look absolutely beautiful. Luckily for you, I still remember how to dress a woman in kimono. Otherwise we'd have to go to the palace looking for help. That's a terrible way to impress anyone."  
"But I don't want to impress anyone!" Kagome wailed.  
"I think you've already impressed the most important person anyway," Lady Oorotai cackled, and pushed Kagome back into her little room, "The water is heating. First you bathe, then we do your hair, and then I get you dressed!"  
Now she stood, swaddled in the kimono. A furisode kimono, Kagome wore the most formal kimono for an unmarried woman - other than a wedding kimono, of course. The sleeves were so long the ends almost trailed the ground. The Obi was wide and thick, flattening her profile so she looked almost completely round rather than with the naturally divided sections of chest, waist, and hips. Her geta made her about four inches taller. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a large bun, held in place with a jeweled ornamental hair pin in the shape of a cherry blossom. Two small pink earrings graced her ears, tiny bells that chimed when she moved her head.  
"I...I'm really not sure about this," she said weakly. She felt oddly constricted, unable to bend or move too much. That, of course, was the blessing of the kimono, for a woman could only move in slow, graceful motions when she was as wrapped as she was.  
And Kagome was wrapped. She felt like a present being wrapped up for a gift by the time she was done. She was so grateful that modern-day kimono were looser and generally smaller.  
"Nonsense, you look beautiful."  
There had even been a makeup box in with the jewelry, but Kagome refused to wear much. She knew how most of the noble ladies of this time wore their makeup, and she didn't want to melt under all that facepaint.  
"I wonder where the wagon is," Lady Oorotai asked, and peered outside.  
"He probably forgot," Kagome said quickly, "Help me take this off, quick!"  
"I see a wagon, it's probably his driver."  
_Nooooooo..._  
Kagome heard wheels creak up to the door, and she sighed. Oh well.  
Lady Oorotai tucked a fan into Kagome's obi, and beamed, "There. Now, hurry up, don't keep him waiting."  
_I didn't even want to go!_  
Kagome made her way outside, where a covered wagon waited. The man driving the wagon hopped down and helped her up. Kagome perched on the small seat, and waited as the wagon turned, and rumbled back towards the palace.  
_I wonder if I could jump over the side and run back to the well in this kimono?_

The wagon crested a small rise on the other side of the palace, where Kagome had never been, and she was shocked to see a field all set up for the celebration. There was a huge pile of wood in the middle...the bonfire InuYasha was supposed to light. Tables and cushions were set up everywhere on laid-out carpets. Tents were raised in case of rain, and both these and brightly colored pennants snapped and rippled in the breeze. Torches were lit everywhere, bright globes of colored glass. People were walking here and there, dressed in brilliant colors. Women's kimonos were like flowers, moving slowly about the area. Men in men's kimonos, in more subdued colors, also walked here and there, talking to each other.  
The wagon came down over the little rise, rumbling to a stop. Kagome looked out over the assembled people.  
_Ok. Make no eye contact with the men, women don't do that yet. At least not until they talk to me first. If they talk to me at all. And he's __**Lord**__ InuYasha._  
The wagon driver hopped down, and helped Kagome down. He was getting ready to drive off and leave her there alone, when she heard Lady Izayoi's voice, "Lady Kagome?"  
_Thank goodness._ Kagome thought, walking around the back of the wagon. She had been afraid she was going to be left to find for herself until she found InuYasha.  
The wagon rolled off, and Kagome found herself standing before Lady Izayoi, and InuYasha himself.  
Lady Izayoi wore a brilliant blue kimono with cranes on it. Her long hair was up in elaborate loops and whorls, pinned in place with many small jeweled pins and combs. Gems hung from her ears.  
"There you are, Lady Kagome."  
Kagome smiled, and bowed to Izayoi, "Lady, you look beautiful."  
"Why thank you. You look beautiful as well. Doesn't she look beautiful, InuYasha?"  
Kagome looked at InuYasha, and blinked.  
InuYasha was staring at her as if he had been poleaxed. He just blinked, looking like he had no idea what to say. A rather bright blush ran over his cheeks and nose, and Kagome was alarmed to discover she was blushing back.  
InuYasha wore a man's kimono, in his preferred ink-black. Gold thread was embroidered throughout it, making different geometric patterns here and there, circles, squares, pinwheels, and so on. He was also wearing geta. The sword was still at his hip. Kagome couldn't help notice that in the firelight, the gold thread flickered, and seemed to highlight the gold of his eyes even more.  
"InuYasha," Lady Izayoi gently chided, smiling.  
"Uh, yes! She...you look beautiful, Lady Kagome."  
"Thank you, Lord InuYasha," Kagome bowed to him.  
"It was very kind of you to agree to attend my son," Lady Izayoi said, seeing her son seemed incapable of speech, "He dislikes these events very much, you know. I have tried everything to make him feel differently, but..." she gave a dramatic little sigh, then laughed.  
Someone started tuning up a yamatogoto, the ancient stringed instrument, and Lady Izayoi turned, "Oh, I think they're getting ready to start performing."  
InuYasha seemed to wake up, "Uh right..." he looked at Kagome, "Can you wait here a second? I have to escort the Lady Izayoi to her seat, then I can come back and - '  
"No, it's fine, see to Lady Izayoi first."  
He nodded, and moved to Izayoi's side. She smiled up at him - he was taller than she was - and he offered her his arm. Beaming at her son, Izayoi took his arm, and let him lead her to the central seat that was raised on a small dias. The larger one, where Lord InuTashio would be sitting, was empty, a silk cushion on the seat to indicate no one could sit there - the Lord was currently out.  
Kagome watched as InuYasha spoke to Lady Izayoi, and she smiled. Izayoi was obviously so proud of InuYasha, Kagome felt tears threatening to prick at her eyes. If only the woman had lived to see her son grown.  
Of course, the _real_ InuYasha was nothing like this one, but...Izayoi still had so much to be proud of.  
InuYasha hurried back to Kagome, and then offered her his arm. Kagome blinked, suddenly realizing she had never walked with InuYasha in this manner. They had certainly walked together, hundreds of times. And once or two she had taken ahold of his upper arm. But they had never actually linked arms in this manner.  
She was shocked to discover she was suddenly feeling extremely shy.  
_You're just here to observe something, keep that in mind. That's all. InuYasha is your friend, and you're here to observe some...important...thing._  
Kagome fell into step beside him, letting him lead her. She felt a surge of panic when she suddenly realized she was going to have to sit up on the raised dias. Naturally she was expected to sit next to him, and he was a member of the royal family.  
_Oh noooo. Everyone will be able to stare at me. They'll all notice I act weird. Oh no oh no..._  
Kagome kept her face carefully composed as he led her to a crimson cushion and helped her seat herself there, and then he lowered himself to sit beside her.  
Kagome kept her eyes on her knees, doing her best to behave like a pre-feudal era woman, even a noble woman. After a little while, though, curiosity got the better of her, and she started stealing peeks around.  
The very first thing she noticed, to her horror, was that _everyone_ was extremely curious about her, and they were all stealing peeks at _her_. Especially the women.  
Two in particular were watching her. One had a rather vacant, if pleasant, look on her face, while the other one watched Kagome with an alarming sneer.  
_I'm guessing the happily blank one is Lady Momoko. And the other one? I don't...would that be Lady Aiko?_  
Music rose up, trilling loudly, startling Kagome. She turned to see InuYasha starting to rise, and everyone looking at him expectantly.  
"I'll be right back," InuYasha muttered under his breath, "I have to go light the all-important campfire."  
Kagome blinked, and started to giggle, slapping a sleeve-covered hand to her mouth as if she were coughing.  
InuYasha heard her, though, and grinned at her as he rose.  
She watched as he walked over to where a torch was lit, standing on a long pole sunk into the grass. He picked up the torch, and walked over to the huge pile of wood. The flutes rose melodramatically as the hanyou knelt, and lit the bottom of the woodpile.  
The wood must have been prepared beforehand, for the wood caught easily, crackling to life.  
Everyone cheered as the fire lit, rising up into the sky with a roar. It burned brightly.  
InuYasha walked back, seating himself as the music rose in volumn, and servants started bringing out the food.  
InuYasha leaned over to Kagome, murmuring so only she could hear, "See how important that was? I lit a stupid oil-soaked bunch of wood. You'd think I had just single-handedly defeated a warband." InuYasha sounded disgusted and somewhat embarassed.  
Kagome quietly laughed, then spoke, "Well, it must be important. Everyone seems to like it, and your mother looked happy."  
"Mother says tradition is important to people, especially now, with the war looming. It makes people feel...secure. Like not everything is as risk of being taken away."  
"That's true," Kagome said, "The people are probably scared. As silly as it seems, watching their rulers take time out to celebrate will make them think they must have everything under control."  
"I suppose."

The food was quite delicious, and the music was lovely. Dancers came out, and performed, and Kagome watched them, entranced. The general murmur of conversation welled around them like a sea, a constant background. InuYasha often leaned over, talking to her, and she could see how _much_ he disliked these events.  
_I guess some things about InuYasha are static. They're always there._  
He suddenly leaned over, looking into her face, "You're not...you're not enjoying yourself, are you?"  
Kagome blinked up at him, "What? Why do you ask that?"  
"You're not saying much. And you're keeping your eyes on your plate. Are you ok? You don't feel ill, do you?"  
"No, I..." she fell silent. How was she going to explain she was trying to behave properly?  
"I told you," she said quietly, "I'm _not_ a noblewoman. I'm trying to act like one."  
"By acting sick?"  
"No! I'm...you know...being..."  
"Being what?"  
"Respectful."  
InuYasha blinked at her, "Respectful? To who?"  
"Them. Everyone."  
"I...don't understand."  
Kagome didn't say anything, not knowing how to explain.  
But somehow, InuYasha suddenly caught on. He blinked at her again, and then leaned over. When he spoke, she was surprised to hear a little anger in his voice.  
"Don't you act inferior to them. They're no better than you are. Stop hiding your face. If you want to look around, look around."  
"But that's imp-"  
"Who cares? If you want to stare at someone, stare at them!"  
"I can't just-"  
"You're better than anyone here, Lady Kagome. You could teach them _all_ a thing or two about manners, I think. I noticed that about you right away, you're bold. You keep being bold, don't let these stuffed quail make you feel lowly."  
Kagome didn't know what to say, so fell silent.

After the dancers, the poets and storytellers came out. Beside her, Kagome heard InuYasha sigh quietly, but dismally.  
Kagome hid her face to hide her giggle, "Stop that. They can't be that bad."  
"Only if Lady Momoko doesn't join them."  
"_Stop."_  
He grinned at her.  
"I have a new story for you," said the old man, who stood in the middle of the carpeted area. The tables had been removed, the cushions arranged in a giant circle, so the performers could perform where everyone could see.  
"I learned this one several months ago, when I journeyed to a far distant land."  
InuYasha leaned over, whispering, "It was the village across the valley."  
Kagome smiled, whispering, _"Will you stop?!"_  
"Many many years ago, a young man was walking in the forest. He was tall and strong, and handsome. He heard singing as he passed a lake, and when he stopped and looked, he saw a beautiful woman sitting on a rock. She was combing her long hair, and singing a beautiful song. Her gown was a beautiful green, of the finest silk.  
The song was so beautiful, and the woman so fair to look up, the young man approached her, and began talking to her.  
At first the young woman was shy, and would not talk. But the young man seemed kindly, and after a while, she started to talk to him.  
As the hours passed, the young man found he had fallen in love with the young woman. He asked her to come back to his house where he lived with his sisters. She agreed, and went with him. His sisters all liked the young woman very much, and she moved in with them.  
Time passed. More and more the young man noticed that the young woman was spending time out by the lake. She would sit there, singing, and combing her hair. The young man was worried, because he was afraid that bandits would come and take her away, or hurt her. But the young woman always assured him that she would be safe.  
After some years had passed, the young man gathered up the courage to tell the young woman he wanted to marry her. He thought she would be very happy. But when he told her, she grew upset, and would not speak to him any more.  
The young man wondered what he could do to make the young woman happy again, and talk to him. And he wondered why the young woman would not marry him.  
One day, he could not find her, and went looking for her. He finally found her out by the lake, and she was standing on the rock she had been sitting on before. She was getting ready to jump into the water.  
The young man ran to her, and demanded she tell him why she was going to jump into the water.  
The young woman told the young man that she wasn't a human woman at all, but was a water spirit. She used to come every day to that rock and sing and comb her hair. On the day the young man came and talked to her, she had been moved by his kindness, and agreed to go and meet his sisters. In time she had fallen in love with the young man, as he had fallen in love with her. But she could not marry him, because she had been away from her lake too long, and now she had to return.  
The young man told her she could not go back, he would miss her. She told him she had no choice. If she stayed, she would die.  
The young man said that he would join her in the lake, and live with her there.  
The young woman told him that he could not live in her lake, for he was a human, and would die.  
The young woman told the young man she was sorry, that she did not mean to hurt him, but things are as they are, and cannot be changed. She jumped into the water.  
The young man tried to grab her, grabbing onto her beautiful green robe, and tried to pull her back. But the water spirit untied her robe, and slipped away into the water, leaving the young man with a broken heart and a beautiful green robe."  
The old man bowed, and walked away, while those that had been listening clapped politely, calling out their enjoyment of the story.  
Kagome watched him leave.  
_Is that what I was supposed to learn? He said 'things are as they are, and cannot be changed'. Was that it?_  
She frowned.

The music and dancing wore on rather late into the night. After a while, people started leaving, going to their own homes, or to the places they would be staying at while visiting the castle.  
InuYasha stood up, escorting Lady Izayoi to a waiting wagon that would take her back to the palace, before turning to Kagome.  
"Did you...did you enjoy yourself?" he asked.  
"I did," Kagome said, nodding, "It was...the music, and the food." She smiled, "And the lighting of the fire was of course _very_ impressive. No one lights a fire like the young Lord InuYasha."  
He grinned at her, "Ha ha."  
Kagome turned, and watched it, still burning, "How long will it burn?"  
"A few days. We'll post guards to keep an eye on it, make sure it doesn't burn out of control or anything."  
He took her arm, and started walking. Kagome had expected him to lead her to where the wagons were waiting for guests, but instead he walked her towards the bonfire.  
"Thank you. For attending me."  
"Oh, you're welcome. Like I said, I had fun."  
"I did too," he said, "But that's because I had someone to talk to."  
"And not a single bad poem," Kagome smiled.  
InuYasha chuckled, looking to the fire.  
Kagome watched his face in silence for a minute. He lost his smile, seemed so serious.  
"I hope father gets the allies he needs."  
"I'm sure he will."  
He looked at her.  
"Well," she said, "If the demons are attacking you, it only stands to reason they might decide to move on to your neighbours. It wouldn't make a lot of sense if everyone just sat around watching everyone else get destroyed. I mean, eventually there's no one left to fight back. It would just make sense to join forces now, wouldn't it?"  
InuYasha watched her out of the corner of his eye, looking as if he were trying to decide whether or not to speak. She watched him, almost nervously. Now what?  
He turned to her, "That's why I wanted you to attend me, Lady Kagome."  
She blinked, "What do you mean?"  
"I mean you have a head on your shoulders. Everyone else would just say, "Oh, Lord InuYasha, of _course_ Lord InuTashio will get allies. Lord InuTashio is strong and powerful, who _wouldn't_ want to ally themselves with him? And as your son, you are as strong as powerful as he is!"  
"Well...that's true, you know."  
"Yes, but they're not answering me. They're just..." he fell silent for a second, then spoke, "They're just saying something good they think I want to hear. I want to know what people are _thinking_, not what they think I want to hear.I hate it when someone speaks of good things to me because they think that's what I _want_ to hear. I want the _truth._"  
_These two InuYasha's are so different. I mean, my InuYasha...I mean, the old InuYasha, would feel the same way, but he'd never be able to say it so clearly._  
She suddenly felt a wave of sadness, _Oh InuYasha. Your childhood was so hard on you._  
"I guess it's hard being a lord. Or a lady, for that reason. I certainly wouldn't want people always trying to get on my good side, if it meant they didn't deal honestly with me."  
InuYasha studied her by the firelight.  
"Lady Kagome?"  
"Just 'Kagome'. If you want me to call you InuYasha, you just call me Kagome. 'Lady' makes me feel like I should be sitting on a throne or something, yelling out orders."  
He laughed, then looked at her, tilting his head, "What, you wouldn't want that?"  
She smiled at him.  
"No, I wouldn't. I'm just plain old Kagome, and I kinda like it."  
"You're not 'plain' anything, Kagome."  
She blinked up at him, and was startled at the look on his face. She hesitantly stepped back, removing her hand from his arm, "My, it's so late. I have to get up early tomorrow and gather some more herbs. Where are the wagons?"  
"Right, I'm sorry. Here, they're just over there."  
He walked her to where a few solitary wagons were waiting, and waved for the driver to stay where he was. He startled Kagome by helping her up into the wagon himself, and watched her quietly as she seated herself.  
"Thank you, again. I appreciate it."  
"No problem," she lightly laughed, and the wagon jolted forward. He stood there, watching for a second, as she rode away, and then turned, heading up towards the palace.


	6. Chapter 6

Kagome pushed back the door of the healers building, and stepped out into the bright morning light. She had slept like a stone, and was feeling sort of groggy. It had taken over an hour last night to undress, unwinding all the material, taking down her hair, putting all the pins away, washing the makeup off her face and finally getting into bed.  
She was so tired, she didn't even have time to think about everything that had happened.  
This morning, however, her mind was already racing, wondering about everything that had happened. It would be a help if Kagome had some idea of what this 'thing' was she was supposed to see. Izumi had told her she would know what it was when she saw it, but she had no idea.  
The herbs she had had to gather were just outside the main palace, so it only took her a few minutes to get there. She cut them from the pots they were growing in, wrapping them in the basket. Kagome realized a part of her was waiting, so she wasn't too surprised when he appeared, walking towards her.  
"Good morning."  
"Good morning," she smiled at him.  
"How did you sleep?"  
"Heavily," she laughed, "And probably will again tonight. I...how should I return the kimono? There were three, I only needed one. Should I just take them back myself, or will you get someon-"  
"Don't return them, they're yours."  
"But I...I don't need them. I mean, I only needed the one."  
"That doesn't matter. They're yours. You said you only had utility clothing. Actually, the kimono are nice, but they're pretty formal. I can get you some other things to wear, you should have some komon kimono. Or some more hakama."  
Kagome blinked, "Don't get me clothes!"  
InuYasha blinked at her, then looked startled, "No, I didn't mean _I'd_ get them. _You_ pick them out. Go and get whatever you need, just get him to put it on my rec-"  
"No, I...I can't do that!"  
He looked at her, almost dissapointed, "You can't?"  
"No! I mean, it's very kind of you to offer, but I can't expect you to buy me clothing. What I have is fine." She was blushing furiously.  
"Are...you sure? I don't mind."  
"I'm sure. Really. Honest."  
"Alright then."  
Kagome shifted the basket from one hand to another, finding some way to end the conversation and escape back to the healers, when he spoke again.  
"Would you like to take a trip down into the village again?"  
"A trip?"  
"I have a payment mother wants me to make. We can send servants, but mother thinks it's better if we pay our bills and things ourselves."  
"I...alright." Kagome looked into her basket, wondering what made her say yes.  
"Great. I'll go get Kaze. Stay here."

Kagome left her basket where it was, hopping up behind InuYasha again on the bay. Once again the horse leapt forward like a bullet, shooting down over the fields, tearing along like lightning. Kagome tried not to laugh with joy. She had no idea how wonderful it felt to ride a powerful horse.  
InuYasha pulled Kaze in when they got within sight of the village, grinning over his shoulder at Kagome. She laughed.  
"So you like Kaze?"  
"He's wonderful. So fast. I never knew horses could run so fast."  
"What do you mean? Haven't you ever been on a horse before?"  
"No."  
He peered back at her again, "You haven't? You're joking."  
"No, no joke, I've never been on a horse. I don't know anything about horses."  
InuYasha pulled Kaze to a stop, and startled her by sliding off.  
"What-"  
"Move forward."  
Confused, Kagome scooted forward, then blinked again when he jumped up behind her.  
"We have to get you a horse," he said, settling himself behind her.  
"A _horse_!? I don't know how to look after a horse!"  
He laughed, "You don't have to. It'll stay at the stables. The groom will look after it, but it'll be there anytime you need it."  
"Why would I need it?" she asked, panicked.  
"When you have to come out here collecting herbs? You'd...you'd be safer. You could collect the herbs faster, and get back faster if anything happened."  
"I-"  
"Take the reins."  
Kagome blinked at the horse's reins that lay over the saddle. She stared at them as if they were snakes.  
InuYasha sensed it, and laughed again, "They're not going to bite you. Pick them up."  
Carefully, she picked up the reins with her fingertips, holding them lightly. She expected the horse to suddenly take off, dumping them on the ground. Or rearing up.  
InuYasha made an amused snort, and reached around Kagome, taking her hands. He repositioned the reins in her hands so she was holding them in a tighter grip, the rein resting in her palm, fingers curled around.  
Holding his hands over hers, he lightly pulled on one, then the other.  
"You turn him like this. This way to go in this direction, this way to go in this direction."  
"I know a little," she said meekly.  
"Good. You only use the reins to tell the horse what direction you want it to go in. To tell it to actually move, or stop, you use your legs."  
"My legs? How?"  
"Lift the reins a little, and give the horse a squeeze with your legs."  
Kagome told as she was told, and let out a startled squawk when Kaze suddenly started walking forward.  
InuYasha laughed, "See? Now turn him right. Good. Left. Good! To make him stop, pull back - lightly - on the reins, and squeeze again. There! Nothing to it."  
Kagome grinned like a fool. She had just driven a horse!  
"Now, make him walk again. Good. Now, you have to learn to move _with_ the horse. If it goes uphill, you have to lean forward. Downhill, lean back. It moves your weight on the horse, making it easier for him to walk on uneven ground. If you don't distribute your weight, you can spook the horse, and then it panicks."  
"Ok."  
"Lead him over there."  
"But that's-."  
"Uneven, I know. I want to show you."  
Cringing a little, Kagome turned Kaze towards a hillocky spot, with little bumps and rises. Kagome blinked when she felt InuYasha's arm go around her middle.  
"Now, you have to let yourself relax a little, go loose. Come on, go - there. Now, when he walks, you feel how he moves, how he sort of rolls a little? You have to roll with him."  
Kagome squeezed the reins.  
Behind her, InuYasha laughed again, "Come on, loosen up. If you stay stiff like that you can fall off, because he might correct himself quickly. Horses are really nervous over their feet. If they think they're going to lose their footing, they can jump, and if you're like a board, you can topple off. There. Good, see? You can feel how he sways, and you sort of sway a little with him. It makes it easier for him, so he's less likely to panic."  
Kagome nodded. She was listening...but she was so aware of the feel of him pressing against her back, of his arm around her waist.  
His voice came again, suddenly so close to her ear, "Now, lead him back to that clear spot. Ok, now we're going to make him canter. It's like a trot."  
"I don't want him to run!"  
"He's not going to run, he'll trot. Trotting is the horse's natural gait, so it's easier for him, tires him out less. Ok, make him walk. Good. Now, to get him to go a little faster, just give the reins a little flick, another littel squeeze, and now you _lean_ forward a tiny bit."  
InuYasha leaned, pushing up against her, his chin resting on her right shoulder. She felt a deep shiver run up her spine, but it was lost as Kaze moved forward into an easy canter.  
He laughed, "Honestly, the hardest part about horse riding is when you start, you use muscles you didn't know you had. If you stay on a horse for more than an hour, you'll feel it the next day. You sort of have to train your muscles too, how to ride, so they stay relaxed."  
Kagome knew there was no way she could relax, not like this. He was so close, his voice right in her ear, one strong arm around her waist. They were moving together as the horse cantered, she was aware she was sort of...bouncing...a little more than normal, but didn't really have any way to hold onto herself.  
He suddenly spoke in her ear, "Want to let him go?"  
"No!"  
"Are you sure? It's different when you're in front, you can see everything!"  
"No, no running!"  
He laughed, "Alright. No running. Walk him down there, that's where I have to go."  
Kagome pulled back slightly, leaning back against InuYasha, slowing Kaze down. The horse tossed his head, complaining slightly about the slow speed, but picked his way down along the path.  
"Stop here."  
Kagome pulled Kaze to a stop, and InuYasha slid off behind her. He smiled up at her as he dug a little package out of the tack on the horse, and turned, walking towards the building.  
Kagome slid back on Kaze some, so that when InuYasha came back, he would get up in front. While steering the horse had been fun, she was way too close to InuYasha. Something might happen.  
It was only about then that she really looked around, and really noticed where she was.  
They had stopped in front of a shrine.  
Bright red caught the corner of her eye, and she turned.  
Kagome blinked, gasping.  
Kikyo was walking out of the shrine.

The Priestess walked towards InuYasha, a smile on her face. She said something to him, but Kagome couldn't pick it out from this distance. InuYasha responded, and held out the small package. Kagome guessed it must hold money...InuYasha must be paying Kikyo for some service she had done their family.  
She had forgotten completely about Kikyo.  
There hadn't been any word of her, no sign, no sight. Kagome had figured the Priestess must not even exist here, and had promptly forgotten. She had been so intent on find this 'thing' she was supposed to see. How often had she seen that Shrine but had never really noticed it? They were here a few days ago, they must have passed it. But Kagome hadn't seen it at all.  
She watched, quietly, as Kikyo and InuYasha spoke a little more, the Priestess smiling at him, before taking the package and bowing.  
InuYasha nodded his head to her, and turned, and walked back to Kagome.  
Kagome saw Kikyo watch InuYasha, watch him walk back to the horse. Her eyes suddenly fell on Kagome, and the other woman blinked, a shocked look on her face.  
Kagome watched, helplessly, as Kikyo stared at her, a strange look passing over her face, before she turned, heading back inside the shrine.  
InuYasha jumped up onto Kaze, "Had enough in front?"  
"InuYasha, that...who...who's that woman?"  
"Huh? The Priestess?"  
"Yeah."  
He shrugged slightly, "I think her name is Kikyo. She's been Priestess here a while. Why?"  
"You...you know her?"  
He looked at her, confused, "Yeah, she's the Priestess. Why?"  
"I...thought...for a minute...I knew her."  
"She performed some ceremonies for mother a while back. Do you want to do anything here?"  
"No, I...I'm good to go back."  
"Alright."  
He turned Kaze, and they headed back to the palace.

Kagome thanked him for teaching her to ride, slipping off the horse in front of the healers' building.  
"We'll pick out a horse for you tomorrow, and we'll start taking them out."  
"You can't give me a horse!" she said.  
"Watch me," he laughed, and turned Kaze, heading back towards the stables.  
Sighing, Kagome pushed open the door, and walked inside.  
"Been with the young Lord again, have we?" a smiling Oorotai asked as she came in.  
"Yes, we were in the village...Lady Oorotai?"  
"Yes?"  
"The priestess in the village. Kikyo. Has she been there long?"  
"Yes, all her life. She became priestess at a young age, but they say her spiritual power is very strong. She often performs ceremonies and cleansings for the family."  
"So...InuYasha knows her well, then?"  
"Well? Well...as well as anyone in the villaeg, I suppose. Why?"  
"Oh, no reason. Just wondering..."  
"Hmmmm. Did you bring back the herbs Gokkan sent you for?"  
Kagome blinked, "Oh no, I forgot them! I'll go get them!"  
She pushed open the door, and started running. Her basket should be just outside the palace wall, near the giant pots.  
_Some apprentice I am, I forget to bring back the herbs!_  
Kagome ran across the courtyard, up the stairs, and skirted the small pond. The wall of the palace came into view, and her basket was there, awaiting her.  
Kagome bent down, and picked up the basket, catching her breath.  
Voices drifted to her through an unshuttered window.  
"And how was your day, dear?" she heard Lady Izayoi ask.  
"It was good," she heard InuYasha answer, "I took the payment down to the shrine for you."  
"Thank you, dear. I hear you took a guest?"  
"I took Kagome with me, yeah."  
Izayoi's voice was sweet, and amused, " 'Kagome', is it?"  
InuYasha's voice, sounding almost embarassed, "We dropped the titles. They were just getting in the way."  
Kagome knelt, holding the basket to her chest, listening.  
_I shouldn't be listening. Nothing good ever comes from listening._  
"Oh I see."  
There was a pause, and then he spoke again, "Have you...have you heard anything?"  
Izayoi's voice was gentle, "No, InuYasha. I'm sorry. Master Gokkan and Lady Oorotai say she hasn't said anything yet. They have no idea where Lady Kagome comes from, any more than we do."  
Kagome paused, _They're trying to find out where I come from? I'm going to have to make up something. Maybe I can say I come from the far southern province of Tokyo. They'll never have heard of that. Maybe I can tell them I'm from the mainland or something._  
InuYasha's voice again, "I've put together a box. It can be carried with the letter...you..."  
Izayoi laughed, "Yes, dear, I've already written the letter, and signed your father's name to it. I know he won't mind. In fact he'll be delighted. We were starting to worry."  
"Alright, good."  
InuYasha's voice seemed to get louder and weaker from time to time, and Kagome could picture him inside the room, probably pacing as he talked. He seemed very intent about something.  
"You were talking about a box, dear?"  
"Oh yeah. A little chest, about this big, you know."  
"For the letter?"  
"And some gems. Pearls. I've put some gold coins in there too."  
"That's not necessary, InuYasha, you know that."  
"I know, I know. But I don't want there to be any doubt. I want her family to know right from the start I can pay whatever they've set as Kagome's Bride-price."  
Kagome gasped, both hands flying to her mouth, the basket dropping to the ground, herbs spilling out. She froze, certain they must have heard her, _he_ must have heard her, with his ears. They'd find her out here, just...dead on the ground.  
_My Bride-price? They're arranging our marriage!? __**He's**__ arranging our marriage?!_  
"Well, everything is set, InuYasha. As soon as we find out where Lady Kagome is from, we can send the messenger with the letter of proposal and your...ah...gift." There was a pause, and she spoke again, soft, and gentle, "I noticed right from the start. I've been wondering when someone would finally catch your eye. I have to admit...Kagome's not the one I probably would have picked out for you. She's...odd. But what matters is _you've_ chosen her. Your father and I are so happy you finally found someone you want to marry."  
"She's so..._different_. She makes me laugh. All the other women I've been around just try to look beautiful but act so...empty. Kagome's not empty, not at all. She speaks her mind. I _like_ that. I like it that she'll just say what she's thinking. And she's _smart_. She understands what I'm thinking."  
Izayoi spoke, "I _have_ noticed you smiling so much more now. You've always carried your responsibilities so heavily...it's wonderful to see you being happy and just having fun."  
There was a pause.  
"Do you think her father will accept? What ...what if he's already arranged someone for her? Maybe it's all been arranged already with someone else?"  
"I think we can probably convince him to change his mind. Money is no object."  
_What about me!?_ Kagome wildly thought, _Hello?_  
As if hearing her, InuYasha said, "I have to find some way to let Kagome know what I'm doing."  
"Well...we need her father's approval first, dear, you know that."  
"You don't know Kagome. I think she'll be upset if I don't even let her know what I'm doing."  
_You got that right! I don't care if marriages are arranged here, I'm not some sack of rice you can buy!_  
"Dear-"  
"No. I'll wait until I know her father approves. Then I'll tell her. So she'll know I'm serious. She..." there was a pause, "She might say no. I can see her saying no. What do I do if she says no?" He was starting to sound panicked.  
"If her father agrees, dear, she doesn't really have a choice."  
"I don't want that." he sounded upset, "I don't want her to _have_ to marry me."  
"It's how it's done, dear. Love often comes later. You're lucky...you obviously love her, she'll be honoured such an impressive young lord wants to make her his wife. Do you think she returns it?"  
"I...I don't know. When we were on the horse today, and I was teaching her to ride, I...I knew she was liking me then. I could _smell_ her scent change."  
Kagome cringed, _Oh God._  
"I want to buy her things but she won't let me. What kind of woman won't let someone buy her things?"  
Izayoi softly laughed, "A strange one, apparently, but an honest one. Come, we need to go talk to the visiting dignitaries."  
She heard him sigh, and then silence.  
Kagome slowly crawled to her feet, and turned. She left the basket behind, and started for the well.

_Ok. I know now. I know what Izumi said I had to see. That InuYasha had a completely different upbringing, a different childhood, and when he met Kikyo, he didn't fall in love with her. Ok. Good. Done. Now to go home._  
It had been a long walk, punctuated by occasional running. She was starting to get tired.  
_Oh no! My bow! I don't have my...oh for heaven's sake, this is a dream, remember?_  
_Ok, back to the well, and wake up. Back to the well, and wake up._  
Kagome had gotten to the edge of the pine forest, when she suddenly heard a horse whinny, and she froze.  
_He __**didn't**__!_  
Just in case, she pushed her way into the forest, _Why would he follow me? He doesn't know where I'm going. There's no reason he'd follow-_  
"Kagome!"  
She squawked in shock, almost tripping over her own feet. Not sure what was going on, why he was following her, she started running.  
"Kagome, wait!"  
She burst out into the clearing, and there was the well.  
_Home._  
Kagome only managed four running steps, before she felt him grab her arm, "Wait!"  
She turned, looking back at him, shocked. Why had he followed her?  
"Where are you going?" he asked, looking at her, worried, "You shouldn't be this far out, you're past the walls."  
"What are you doing out here?"  
"I followed your scent. I caught it at the palace..." he stilled, searching her face, "You...you heard me, didn't you. Me and my mother. I came back a few minutes after I left, and I could _smell_ you. I saw out the window the spilled basket...I knew you must have heard me."  
"InuY-"  
"I thought you would have gone back to Master Gokkan's, but I realized your scent went farther than that, and when I realized it went outside, I got Kaze."  
"I-"  
"I'm sorry I kept it from you, Kagome. I knew you'd be upset I didn't tell you what I was doing, but I wanted to do it right, and...and I was worried that you might say your Bride-Price had already been paid. Because then I'm not _supposed_ to appeal to your father an-'  
"InuYasha, you have to listen to me."  
"You can't stay out here, Kagome, it's not safe."  
_"You need to listen to me."_  
"Alright, I'm listening. I'll listen, but you have to come back with me, to Kaze. We need to get back inside the village."  
"No, you have to _listen_!"  
He fell silent.  
"I have to go _home_."  
"What?"  
"I have to go, I have to go home."  
"I don't..."  
"Remember? I said I came from far away. Because I had to do something? Well, I did it, and...now I have to go home."  
He just looked at her for a second, golden eyes confused, "What...what was it you had to do?"  
"It's complicated."  
"I don't understand, but...alright. Alright. Come back to the castle, and we'll put together an escort. I'll get some guards, we'll need supplies...I...I'll bring the letter to your father myself. How far-"  
"No, I...look, it won't work that way-" Kagome was getting frusterated. He wasn't listening to what she was saying, he was still talking about arranging a marriage!  
"Why won't it? It's better if I give your father the letter personally anyway. I can-"  
"My father's dead, InuYasha."  
"I..Oh. Well...you must have an older brother or an uncle. Who's the head of your family?"  
"No, you're not hearing me! I have to go home by myself!"  
"You can't! It's too dangerous, all that way!"  
"I can go home from here."  
"From _here_?"  
"Yes. Look, just...go back, ok? I'll be fine, honest. Everything's ok."  
"Nothing's ok! You're in the middle of nowhere."  
"I use the well."  
"The..."  
"That's how...I got here." she said, "I came up through the well."  
She turned, putting one foot up on the edge of the well. She was about to stand up, when he reached out, and took her arm, and pulled her back again, "Don't! If you fall you'll break your neck!"  
"No, it's how I got here!"  
"Kagome, stop it! You're coming back with me."  
"No! I can't! I don't belong here!"  
"Going into a well? You sound mad!"  
"I'll prove it! I'll go down that well, and dissapear. Just watch." Kagome started to turn.  
"No!" he yanked her back towards him, taking her arms in his hands.  
Kagome blinked at him, "Let me go!"  
"I don't understand why you're talking this nonsense, but I'm taking you back. Maybe you had too much sun, or..."  
"I'm telling you, I'm fine!"  
"I don't believe you! You think you can just jump into a well, and-"  
"Let me go! You don't believe me? I'll prove it! I'll jump in, and if I'm wrong, you can laugh at me, haul me out,and take me back."  
"No," he spoke firmly, "I'm taking you back _now."_  
Kagome looked into his face. There was a look beyond that of concern. There was a faint look of panic there, of fear.  
She spoke softly, "You know I'm telling the truth, don't you?"  
InuYasha said nothing, but a slight hint of despair came into his eyes, "I don't know any such thing."  
"You do. You know it's why I'm different. You keep saying I'm different. And now you're thinking maybe this is why. Because I'm really _not_ from here at all, but somewhere far away."  
He shook his head, but spoke lowly, "How do you know what I'm..."  
"I can see it in your eyes."  
InuYasha just looked at her, saying nothing.  
"Let me go, InuYasha."  
"No."  
"Let me go."  
"I don't want you to go, Kagome."  
She paused, her heart pounding, "I know. But I have to."  
"Why?"  
"Because that's where I belong. Over there."  
"And I'm saying you belong here. So stop talking and come back with me."  
She spoke gently, calmly, "You have to let me go."  
"Stop telling me what I have to do! No one tells me what to do! _I'm_ the lord, one day I'll be the _reining_ lord! And I say you're coming back with me, now."  
Kagome shook her head. She wasn't panicking, because she knew it wasn't real, but she was starting to feel very sorry for him. He _looked and sounded_ so much like the _other_ InuYasha, and the look on his face was starting to upset her.  
"You're very used to getting your own way, aren't you?"  
He just looked at her, angry, frightened.  
"But now it's not working for you. For the first time in your life you're being denied something."  
_And it's something you really want._ she thought sadly.  
He just looked at her despairing, holding onto her upper arms, tightly. After a second, he spoke.  
"This...this is like that story, isn't it? Only instead of a beautiful water spirit, you're an earth spirit. You're not human, are you? That's why you're different. That's why you weren't afraid of Kaze, why you weren't afraid to look me right in the eye. Because you're an earth spirit. I fell in love with you...and now you have to go back."  
"InuYasha-"  
"No! You're not going back! You're staying _here."_  
Kagome looked into his eyes, and sighed softly.  
"Ok."  
He blinked, "Ok?"  
Kagome nodded, "Ok. Fine. I'll stay."  
InuYasha studied her face for a second, then gently let her go.  
Kagome felt a burst of sorrow.  
_My InuYasha would never have fallen for that._  
She spun in place, long hair whipping out behind her. She lunged for the well, one foot on the lip. Kagome heard him cry out, yell her name. She jumped.  
She suddenly came to a sudden, painful stop. Her clothes bound her, tightly, as she hung over the emptiness of the well, his hands on the back of her haori, desperately trying to pull her back.  
_"Please! Don't go back!"_  
Kagome squirmed, then paused. She reached up, and untied her haori, shrugging out of it. She felt herself fall free, heard him cry her name, and then there was blackness.

She came to with a loud gasp, sitting bolt upright.  
Izumi, who had been sitting next to her, shrieked in fright, almost falling backwards.  
"Where am I?" Kagome asked wildly, looking around, "Where am I? Did I get through? Am I through?"  
"Yes dear," Izumi said, recovering from her shock, "You're back, you're safe. All is well."  
"All is..." Kagome looked around a little more, as if expecting something...or someone...to appear and grab her. After a second, she let out a deep sigh, putting a hand to her chest.  
"Easy, heart. Calm down."  
Izumi smiled gently as she watched Kagome catch her breath. The rain continued to pour, hissing loudly all around them. The tree they were under was doing a good job of blocking most of it, only the scattered raindrop making it through. When Kagome looked up, she spoke.  
"Well, dear?"  
"Well...I mean...you know what happened, right?"  
Izumi shook her head, her wet hair hanging loosely, "No, I'm afraid not. I merely took your awareness to a place where I knew he had grown up with his parents. Beyond that, I don't know what happened."  
Kagome took a deep breath, then spoke, "Yeah. His parents were alive. He had grown up with them."  
Before she could speak again, Izumi leaned forward, "Did you see Izayoi? InuTashio?"  
Kagome watched the other woman, and nodded.  
Izumi spoke softly, "What were they like, Kagome? Please tell me."  
Kagome paused. Izumi had loved both Izayoi and InuTashio so much, they had been her family, the way Miroku and Sango were to her. Possibly even more. And she had lost them both.  
"They were happy," Kagome said softly, "Happy, and together, and proud of InuYasha. They were rich, with a huge castle."  
Izumi gently clasped her hands together, leaning back, eyes closed for a second, imagining them as Kagome had described.  
"Izumi, can't you go and see them, the way I did?"  
"No dear," Izumi said softly.  
Kagome said nothing else for a little while, waiting until Izumi sighed, and then turned back to her, eyes open, "And?"  
"And..." Kagome studied her knees, "I saw Kikyo. You were right. InuYasha and Kikyo knew each other, but they weren't in love. I think...I think Kikyo might have had something for him, but..."  
"But when he saw you, something happened, didn't it, dear?"  
Kagome looked at Izumi, then away again.  
Izumi spoke, "So. Do you feel any better? Understanding now?"  
Kagome paused, and then spoke, "No."  
Izumi blinked, "Kagome?"  
"Because it doesn't really change anything, does it? InuYasha still grew up alone, _here_. Where _I_ live. So he fell in love with Kikyo. And still loves her. Nothing really changes."  
Izumi watched Kagome, worriedly, "Kagome, you have to look at the fac-"  
Sodden squelching interrupted them, and they tured to see a crimson blob hurtling towards them. A second later, InuYasha burst in through the water. He stood, eyes squeezed shut, holding out his arms, dripping.  
_"What the hell is up with all this water? We get none, then a year's worth!?"_  
Izumi smiled, "Hello InuYasha."  
InuYasha shook his arms, trying to shake some of the water - for a second Kagome had feared he was going to shake himself off, dog-like, the way he had before - but he opened his eyes, peering at them through sodden bangs. He blinked when he saw Kagome, obviously not expecting her.  
"Uh-"  
"Sorry," Kagome mumbled, reddening with embarassment. She started packing up her things in a rush, throwing mangled herbs into her wet basket, and standing up, "Thank you, Izumi, I appreciate it."  
"You don't have to go, dear," Izumi said softly, "I think InuYasha was looking for you."  
"I..actually, I was looking for you, Izumi."  
"Oh?"  
"Yeah, I..." he looked at Kagome, feeling odd. There was still anger there...but DarkWind's words were there as well, "I wanted to talk to you about something."  
"Goodness," Izumi said, "My guidance appears very popular today."  
"I'll just head back," Kagome said, wanting to slink out of the hanyou's sight.  
"It...it's pouring out," InuYasha said, at a loss. There was a very uncomfortable tension in the little area.  
"It's just water, I'll be fine."  
"Don't be stupid," he said, suddenly angry, "You'll just get drenched and get a cold or something. You stay here till the rain stops. I can come back."  
"It might rain all night," Kagome said quietly, not looking at him, "It's too warm for me to catch cold. I'm good."  
He said nothing, watching her unhappily.  
Kagome paused, then looked back at him, miserable, "I'm so sorry, InuYasha. I really am. I know I can't expect you to forgive me after I acted so stupid, but I rea-"  
"I forgive you."  
Kagome stopped, blinking, turning to look back at him.  
Izumi remained completely immobile, hoping they had completely forgotten about her. She did her best to look like part of the background.  
"You...you do?"  
"Yeah..." he looked away, crossed his arms, voice roughening, "I'm still pissed off at you, though! I don't appreciate being tossed around like a sack of rice!"  
"I know I know, I'll never do anything like that again, I swear, I'll make it up to you, I swear!"  
InuYasha peered at her, relenting slightly, "Yeah. Ok. Good."  
She smiled happily, and he felt his anger ebbing. Damnit, when she smiled like that, so happily, so relieved, so _thankful_, how was he supposed to be angry at her?!  
Appearances were important, though, so he remained standing, arms crossed, looking put-upon. He nodded towards the village, "Go on, don't get too soaked."  
"I won't. Thank you, InuYasha, thank you so much. Thank you Izumi!"  
She turned, and ran out into the pouring rain, almost skipping in her happiness.  
InuYasha lowered his arms, watching her go. He stood silently, letting out a deep, long sigh.  
"Dear?"  
InuYasha almost jumped a foot into the air, having completely forgotten about Izumi.  
She laughed, "You wanted to talk to me?"  
"Uh..yeah. About Tetsusaiga."  
Izumi patted the ground next to her, "Come and sit, and tell me what's on your mind."

END


End file.
